[MissDisney]

You know one of the most exciting, happy things to me in all of WDW is sitting in a lovely restaurant with a plate of great food in front of me, a delicious cocktail next to the plate, and a nice little break from the parks for an hour or so.

The icing on the cake is if I can sit next to a table of kids, who are happily BEING kids: sticking a crayon in their ear, threading buttered ziti onto each prong of the fork, dropping a cherry tomato into their soda... you know the drill.

I love that!!!

Especially if the parents aren't harrassing every move they make. Why, oh why, do some parents (or worse yet, some people at the next table!) think a kid is going to be able to sit quietly, use the right fork, keep their napkin in their lap and decline the crayons so they can listen to the conversation instead? Hellooooo? Delusional!

((Don't get me wrong. I know there are cases where the kids get a little too wild or loud. But let's face it. That is incredibly rare even in WDW. And when their parents shriek at them, while red-faced and angry, it is WAY more of a turn-off for the other guests, or at least for me. Plus it shows why the kids acted bad in the first place!))

My favorite moment during my first trip to WDW was once at the end of a day, when I saw a chubby baby on Main Street who was getting his first Mickey Bar. The mom took his little shirt off him, handed him the already-melting bar, and boy did that kid figure it out fast! He worked on that ice cream until it was all down his little round tummy, in his fuzzy hair, up his tiny nose. He had such a great time. Not once did the parents nag him about the mess. They just pulled a wipe out of the box when he was done, cleaned him up, put the shirt back on, and got back to the business of Main Street. I love parents like that!

Oh, and once at Bistro de Paris (which was widely known as the least kid-friendly of all WDW places!) we sat next to two little brothers who cheerfullly called each other "Big Fat Stupid" very quietly when their parents were focused on their own conversation. The boys would laugh so hard, recover, then do it all again. It was so darling!

And I love it when the CMs are cool with the kids too! A cheerfully replaced soda when the first has spilled makes for a nice lunch! And the kid hates sauce? Then of course, we can make it plain for him... it's beautiful.

I mean, WDW attracts kids! The parents are there to help the kids enjoy -- ((yeah, I know there are a ton of us "older children" who enjoy it as much if not more than our own kids do! LOL ))

Just wanted to say -- I love that WDW has kids in restaurants, and I adore every wiggle, squeal and spill they make, and I think anyone who is annoyed by it is being a grump!

[Soundgod]

The only thing I can't take is the supersonic screech.

[llama]

Can't handle the screamers, either. But it's great to see parents realizing that they're kids are not little adults. There's a happy medium - but it seems that a lot of parents are at each end of the extreme.

I use to hate going to McDonald's with a friend of mine and her kids - she was on those poor little boys backs constantly - it made me and my girls, a nervous wreck - I can't imagine how it made those little boys feel. I finally told her to either cool it down or we weren't going with them anymore - but I don't recall that it made a difference. Her oldest went to work up North at 18, the other one went to school in Toronto and hasn't come back yet - I wonder if constantly being told they were "bad boys" was just too much for them.

[MissDisney]

Originally Posted by Soundgod

The only thing I can't take is the supersonic screech.

LOL -- I thought that screech would pass, but let me tell you that you ain't heard NUTHIN' until you've heard that same screech from a carpool of four 13-year-old girls in unison!

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by MissDisney

LOL -- I thought that screech would pass, but let me tell you that you ain't heard NUTHIN' until you've heard that same screech from a carpool of four 13-year-old girls in unison!

That is so true. I've gotten used to it over time but man can those 13 year olds scream.

[Dopey]

There should be a happy medium.
Kids should be kids, but they also should remember their manners just a little bit. If they can't rant and scream at the kitchen table, then they shouldn't do that at a restaurant either. If they use a fork at home, please let's use a fork at the restaurant as well.
One of my boys' friends has a mother who is never, ever leaving her kids be. She always nags them, she even calls our house to find out if Zach behaves himself and mind you, you couldn't ask for a nicer boy. He must feel terrible constantly being watched and admonished about something

On a different level, I hate it when people treat their high-chair bound kids like they are dogs by presenting/sharing part of the adult food on the highchair tray and have the kids eat like utensils are obsolete. I want to get up and slap the parents when I see that.
Ok, I am done.

[MissDisney]

I would still rather see kids having a nice meal as kids, than to hear their parents harrass them in public (now THAT is rude.... adults have no excuse for rudeness!), or to see adults at other tables roll their eyes that the kids are acting like, well, KIDS! And I am speaking about WDW restaurants, in particular... Anyone who is especially sensitive about kids would do well to try a vacation destination other than WDW.

And of course, I am not talking about the EXTREME cases of bad behavior at restaurants. But anyone who has ever had kids knows you can't 100% dictate how a kid will act. You never know when a tot will blow his stack.

And anyway -- I silently applaud our own parenting skills on those occasions that I see hysterical parents or the extreme bratty kids because our kids are so well behaved! LOL!!! Oh man...

[timsha]

Originally Posted by Dopey

There should be a happy medium.
Kids should be kids, but they also should remember their manners just a little bit. If they can't rant and scream at the kitchen table, then they shouldn't do that at a restaurant either. If they use a fork at home, please let's use a fork at the restaurant as well.
One of my boys' friends has a mother who is never, ever leaving her kids be. She always nags them, she even calls our house to find out if Zach behaves himself and mind you, you couldn't ask for a nicer boy. He must feel terrible constantly being watched and admonished about something

On a different level, I hate it when people treat their high-chair bound kids like they are dogs by presenting/sharing part of the adult food on the highchair tray and have the kids eat like utensils are obsolete. I want to get up and slap the parents when I see that.
Ok, I am done.

Amen sister. Kids are kids, but why should they behave much differently at Disney than they do at home? Manners are manners vacation does not give you the right to leave them at home.

[jo-jo]

I remember a meal at Cape May. My DH and I were sitting at a table stuck at the end of the booths. Near the end of their meal, a little girl (no more than 4) stood up on the bench and was leaning over a bit saying "hi" to me. No big deal. The mom was like "leave the lady alone"

Once we went to Ohana and mentioned how much we enjoyed it, the food, the show, everything. We were thanked for the comments and was told some people are annoyed having their meal ruined because of the kids. That's like saying the fireworks are too loud. The noise is part of the fun.

Now a whole different situation.....we went to a local Chinese buffet and the family has a little girl (about 5). She sort of just wanders around the place. We always bring crayons and paper and stickers for our DGD to keep her busy. The last few times, this little girl comes over and stays. We don't want to be rude, but DGD doesn't eat with "her friend" there. It just seems awkward. The little girl only speaks a little english, so we spent a lot of time trying to understand what she is saying. We wouldn't mind if she came by for a few mins, but we feel like we are babysitting. Plus we still are charged for DGD. It's only 2 bucks, but still.

[Erin]

That was a wonderful post, MissDisney!

I really don't understand the big deal...it's WDW! KIDS are going to be EVERYWHERE and probably at various stages of sugar-highs, melt-downs, etc. I know I get pretty cranky myself by the end of a long day!

Chaos rules at WDW - no kid is going to be able to resist that! No child should HAVE to resist that for the sake of some stuffy adult!

Where else can you go to a restaurant and ask for ketchup and get every bottle in the whole place?

I just think it depends on the perspective of the adults involved. If a child is screaming and having a melt-down - who KNOWS what the circumstances are. It's wrong to assume the child is just ill-behaved and the parents don't care! Who knows what's going on.

[MissDisney]

That's right Erin! You got it girl!

I would never suggest that kids should dispense with the manners that they usually have at home, and I am not advocating that kids wreak havoc, unchecked by anything or anyone

BUT

I also do expect that people who go to WDW (parents and other guests) should recognize that kids aren't as mannerly as adults, and give them some latitude -- just expect that they are a little messier, a little noisier and a little goofier than adults. Babies eat noodles with their hands at home, they will do so at a restaurant, and they will do so on vacation. So see the adorableness of it and enjoy! They can master the use of a fork when their hands work a little better.

I expect to see a lot of kids EVERYWHERE at WDW, including in the restaurants, and I continue to applaud the parents who guide their kids peacefully through the experience, the CMs who do their best to help the kids enjoy themselves, and the other guests who recognize that WDW and kids go hand in hand and tolerate the wonderful silliness! Especially after a day of overstimulation, oversugaring, overheating, over waiting and overwalking!

It's one of the many things that make the magic for me!

[Andrea]

Originally Posted by Dopey

On a different level, I hate it when people treat their high-chair bound kids like they are dogs by presenting/sharing part of the adult food on the highchair tray and have the kids eat like utensils are obsolete. I want to get up and slap the parents when I see that.
Ok, I am done.

What would you prefer they do?

[gemdisney]

I didn't read much of the other comments once I realized what you said was meant for me! I have been trained by my Dad to ALWAYS think of the other people around us and not disturbing them by allowing your children/dogs or whatever to disrupt them from the quiet dinner they were paying for. Never once did I think people were enjoying it other than me that I try or I try to keep especially DS from being a child. So you have taught me that my trying is the disruption and not my child being himself...or DD being herself. At home is one thing but out, I guess it doesn't matter either-people would rather see and hear them having fun then being scolded by me!
-I don't allow screeching, I promise!

Oh and I love the pic!

[MissDisney]

LOL gemdisney -- sounds like you have a lot of fun with your kids, and considerate on top of it! You rock it!

[Dana]

Originally Posted by Soundgod

The only thing I can't take is the supersonic screech.

I am right there with you. I love watching kids having a great time especially at WDW, but there is something about the supersonic screech that will make anyone wince.