As any parent knows, eating out in a restaurant with children can be a bit of a dicey game. Sometimes your kids are angels, and other times you just want to crawl under the table ... if it wasn't such a horrific mess from all the food they'd thrown down there. But what if your bill depended on how well-behaved your children were?
A Reddit user recently posted a picture of a receipt from an Italian restaurant in Washington named Sogno Di Vino with a title "If only all restaurants did this for people with kids ..." On it there was a $4 discount for "well-behaved kids". A sweet gesture, and I bet those parents were pretty proud.
But the whole thing makes me kind of nervous.
Can you imagine if you were charged more for those times when your children aren't quite so good (as plenty of commenters suggested should be standard)? Or if the next time you didn't get a discount?
More from The Stir: Rude Waiter Calls Customers ‘Fat Girls’ on Restaurant Bill but It Gets Worse
Eating out with children is already filled with plenty of pressure for parents. Every raised voice, every dropped spoon can make a mom feel like all eyes in the joint are searing into her. And yes, sometimes children are out of control and should be removed from a restaurant. No one deserves for their meal to be interrupted by kids gone wild, but there also needs to be a certain amount of tolerance for families dining out without parents feeling like they're being judged even more. Most children just aren't going to be seen and not heard, and as long as mom and dad are making sure they're not heard too loudly, they deserve a little bit of a break. Having a random waitress decide what "well-behaved" is could be all sorts of problematic. I also can't imagine that restaurants really want to get into a battle over the bill with "those" parents who always deny their precious little ones ever do anything wrong.
Would it be nice to be rewarded when the planets align and you all make it through dinner delightfully? Absolutely. But I'm not sure it's worth the price you'd pay for the days when your kids act more ... like kids.
Would you welcome a policy in which your restaurant bill was adjusted according to your children's behavior?
Image via Reddit
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Comments 68
I think its awesome! Far too few people these days take the time to teach their children manners or good behavior.
I'm all for it... on a recent trip to the local Golden Corral"s grand opening there were children running everywhere & making a mess of things. At one point a little boy about the age of 6 ran past me & just about spilled his plate of mashed potaotes & gravy all over my shoes... if it would of happened I would of had a bone to pick with his parents. The table up from was left such a mess it took 3 people to clean it off as an ice cream cone layed under the table melting. All I wanted to do was leave that place as soon as possible. Never have I had a more stressful dining experience then that & I vowed not to go back to that place again. It just baffles me that some parents have no problem letting their children be rude little pigs. I'm glad my Audrey & Damian have manners & know how to conduct themselves when we are out. I've always had compliments on how well behaved my children are at restuarants. Manners & cleansliness is all it takes. It's not that hard. Maybe a discount on my reciept like that would have changed my mind to come back and spend my money there again.
I think this is a wonderful idea. Some parents feel they are being targeted for their children's behavior, and they ARE!!! Why shouldn't they be? I put a lot of effort into raising my child to be polite and caring individual. If I get a bonus of a couple bucks off my bill, hells yeah! Some parents let their children get away with murder and are surprised it reflects poorly on them. I was raised to be polite, act appropriately inside and outside of the home. If not, I was punished. I was well aware by the age of 3-4 that my parents expected me to behave. By the time I was 5, I understood it reflected poorly on them if I did not. My child is the same. He has always been incredible in stores and restraunts. A little discipline will go a long way with kids, and its up to the parents to stop acting like victims when their child is unruly and start putting their foot down. That $4 off a meal is a decent incentive.
I think this is being blown out of proportion. Someone at the restaurant went the extra mile because the kids behaved. Say thank you and let it go or pay it forward. Good gravy, learn decency and ethics people.
I think it's a great idea, personally. Let's face it--a table full of bratty kids makes the server's job harder, so I see nothing wrong with rewarding parents whose children know how to behave in a restaurant, thereby making everyone else's experience more pleasant. (I've also noticed that families with bratty kids are more likely to leave behind a huge mess, which makes sense. If you don't feel you need to teach your children how to behave, what's the likelihood that you'll feel you need to make them clean up after themselves?)
I'm all for any solution that aims to get parents thinking about appropriate restaurant behavior and the fact that their special snowflake isn't the only one in the room. There are way too many parents who believe that the world should bend over backwards to keep their kids happy, and far too few parents who actually teach their kids how to behave anymore.