Don't Ruin My Night Out!

Things sure have changed! I find myself sounding like some miserable little old lady most days because society seems to have lost touch with polite social etiquette. The lessons my parents and grandparents taught me helped me to get along well in public, but I'm beginning to think that modern parents aren't teaching these lessons anymore.

The hubby and I went out to dinner one night and we ended up seated next to a larger table with an entire family. Their baby was in a baby carrier propped up in a high chair and soon the poor little thing was crying. I understand that babies cry, but there should be an effort made to get them to stop.

When I had my first baby, my mom and grandma took me out to eat at a restaurant and I had to deal with the baby crying in public dilemma. Not wanting to disturb the other diners, I stepped out with my precious son to try to calm him down. He just wouldn't stop crying and we ended up sitting in the car until Mom and Grandma were finished eating. They brought me a box with my leftover food and reassured me that I did the right thing. Was it an inconvenience for me? YES. But I was the one who gambled on eating out with a newborn. It was up to me to be the one to sacrifice if things didn't work out. My husband made his fair share of sacrifices with babies and was usually the one to leave the movie theater when one got noisey.

The baby we encountered in the restaurant recently cried for a good 15 minutes before they did anything. We're running into this in more and more places where people insist on bringing babies and rowdy children and are offended when you suggest they control their children or leave them home with a babysitter. If we spend our hard-earned money on going out to dinner or out to a movie, we don't want to be interrupted by screaming and crying. Maybe we need to have some restaurants and theaters with "child-free" nights.

I remember a woman at church asking me how I was able to keep my children so quiet during church services. I told her, "We don't bring toys for the kids to play with. They can have books or paper (to draw on) and they're expected to act like they're in church."  We had learned by watching other families that a child will provide noise for even the quietest of toys. I've listened to the cries of children who begged their parents for treats and watched as they trained their parents to give them what they wanted in exchange for temporary silence. Some parents even get trained to take their children out into the foyer to play every time they get noisy. By comparison, our children learned quickly that if we took them out to the foyer, they would end up sitting quietly on our laps (being hugged really tight) until they were ready to return to the meeting.

We rarely get to go out as a couple, so we appreciate those of you being parents instead of letting your children run your lives. We'll enjoy our marriage more if we can have fun date nights without the screaming babies. Thank you!