My cousin is a chef and used to be a somm for a very high-end restaurant in San Francisco. When parents would let their kids act up (which was actually pretty rare because most people had common sense and didn't bring little kids to this restaurant), he would ask the parents (after taking their wine order) if they would like a leash as well. That usually solved the problem, but they did have to ask one family to leave because the kids were being so rude though. Then again, it wasn't Applebee's.

My dd is generally good in restaurants. If she's having an off day, she'd likely whine a bit, but she doesn't bother other people. When she was younger, she wanted to stand on the seat and say hi to people and see what they were doing. I'd sit her down and tell her it was rude to do that in a restaurant, and she's learned over time. But if anyone ever threw water on my child on an off day, oh, it'd go down in that Applebee's, and you'd expect more than a little splash of water on your face. I have seen all types of terrible from other people's children. But your splash of water is not gonna do anything for that kid or their family. Honestly when a little kid is acting up in my presence and interfering with me, I just talk to the kid and play with them, I talk loud so the parents hear. They want attention their parents aren't giving them. And usually, when parents catch their kid talking to a stranger (in this scenario, me), they get uptight and finally start watching their kids.

I guess the childfree board got boring so someone traipsed over here to toss around the typical childfree Bingo. "Crotchfruit" and "Little Suzie" and "brats" and the typical restaurant stories about bratty kids and "some people shouldn't breed" ad nauseum. Can't you people find more original stuff?

What if the kid has special needs? Does that change things? Maybe the kid was just having an off day. I don't believe for a second that none of your children ever had an off day in public. It's Applebee's for crying out loud! If you want to go somewhere that doesn't cater to children, perhaps you should settle on a non-family restaurant. There are these places called bars and pubs. They are child free and they sell food. I'm sure you can find one on par with the fine dining you receive from Applebees.

We're not CF but our kids are older but I wish I could find a restaurant that didn't allowed children in it. It never fails that when me and dh go out to dinner it is ruined by some unruly child. We had a kid in the booth in back of me who kept peeking over into our booth, touching my head and blabbering. I finally took a bunch of water in my hand and threw it at the kid cause the parents wouldn't control their bratty beast. She also threw a wood block that held an Applebee's advertisement onto the floor. I was starting to get pissed when I saw that piece of wood go flying cause that kid could have easily chucked over into the booth at my head cause the parents refused to control their brat. There's got to be restaurants out there that cater to the needs of adults who want a dining experience in a kid free environment.

About the new Pokemon game...I think it's so sad that it took a game being created to get people outside their homes & now people are being on their phones even more so now playing this dumb game makes me sad because why couldn't people go outside before to enjoy the outdoors? A game making you go outside all of sudden makes outside seem more pleasurable? No thanks, me & dh will enjoy the beauty mother nature gave us w/o being distracted by our phones; looking down at your phones means you're missing out on the beautiful outdoors. When dh & I are out, we see people in restaurants who have their phones next to them while "enjoying" their dinner together, afraid they're going to miss something on social media or miss a text. It makes me sad that people can't focus on the person they're with cause they're so focused on their phones. What a sad society we live in.

We use leftover plastic containers from the Chinese restaurant for food storage, they last a really long time!

My dad's idea of hospitality is: pick a restaurant, badger "guest" into agreeing to go, make an allergic person sit there with no food, then order what he likes, then give the "guest" a loud lecture in the restaurant when the "guest" doesn't the food.

My dad is the type of person who thinks it's perfectly fine to bring 5 people to a restaurant and order 2 entrees for everyone to split.

Another in the series about friends with really bad characteristics. I was supposed to meet a friend and her family at a restaurant at 12:30. We arrived at 12:35 and when we got to the table, not only had they ordered, but they were already eating! Is it just me, or is that horrifyingly rude? These same people will also finish eating and start walking out of the restaurant before you're finished.