by Bill Veneman » Mon Mar 10, 2014 12:07 pm
Call me old school, but when I was a young lad (yes folks, I grew up and was, admittedly, a bit of a brat), my folks were very careful about where they took us to dinner. There were places that we were welcome to be us, and it was expected (sorry to say those places have long since shuttered up), and those places where we dressed up and had to mind our manners or we would have escorted to the loo for "heart to heart" with one of the 'rents palms to our respective backside.
Now that being said, and the spoilage level of the typical American child had increased by leaps and no bounds, the I say if it keeps the younger patrons quiet and at the table (yes, with proper ear-buds in place), then go for it.
When I go out to dinner (which I tend to do very regularly), I don't want to have my meal constantly interrupted by a disgruntled child trying to maintain the (supposedly) supervising adults attention.
Now, that being said, I will add this. When I dine out and have seen a well behaved child, I make mention of it to the supervising adults with a big smile and thank them for doing a fine job. These young ones will make admirable foodies in the near future.
Oh, and for the record, I agree with Steve P. that a bar area should not be considered a "holding area" for minors. Not a cool move at all, in my opinion.
If life's a Banquet, what's with all the Tofu?
Cheers!
Bill V.