Kids are wild. If you’ve never been a parent, then maybe you don’t realize how much energy these tiny humans possess (hint: it’s a lot!). Because keeping your kids inside all day long isn’t really an option, sometimes parents take those energetic little cuties out with them. And when they get hungry, they have to feed them. Makes sense, right? But one person on Reddit thought two moms should keep their kids quiet — including a crying baby! — while he was dining at Chipotle, and Reddit is completely divided in their opinions.
In the subreddit “Am I The A—hole?”, this person talked about the incident. “My wife and I were at a restaurant earlier having a pretty good time until these two women and their children came into the restaurant,” they wrote.
They explained there were two kids: a baby and one who was about 3 or 4 years old. “Not two minutes since the duo sat down the not baby started running around the restaurant,” they explained. The toddler “knocked my wife’s phone off the table (not broken).” Then, “a few moments later the baby is crying.”
I get it — having your phone knocked off the table is a little annoying. But complaining about a baby…crying? Um, that’s what babies do! But instead of just rolling his eyes and moving on, this person decides to confront the moms.
“I told the two to not only watch their kid running around and knocking things off people’s tables, that they ALSO need to comfort that crying baby,” they wrote. Making a lot of assumptions there, aren’t we? Maybe there’s a reason the baby is crying, like they’re hungry and the mom is trying to eat her food while its hot, or the baby needs a diaper but the restroom is taken, or the baby has colic and always cries, or one of the millions of other reasons the baby could be crying. None of them would be improved by a random stranger telling their mom to “comfort” them. Why does this need to be said?
The person then wrote exactly what he said to the moms: “People did not pay to be harassed by your child running around, but you also need to comfort your crying baby, NOBODY wants to hear a crying baby, nor do they want to be harassed by your kid, REIGN THEM THE FUCK IN!” Whoa, it sounds like someone is having a tantrum — and it’s not the toddler.
They later wrote that an employee came, and told them “in much politer terms to either control your kids, or leave.” They then write they feel “justified” and asked for Reddit’s opinion, before clarifying they were “at a freaking Chipotle!”
Comments were pretty split. Some agreed with the OP, while others thought they were completely overreacting.
“NTA. People don’t go out to movies or restaurants to deal with your kids,” wrote one person. “If they’re too much for you to handle in public then get a sitter till they’re old enough to understand your words and body language.”
Another agreed, writing, “My wife and I never take our two young children to sit down and eat at restaurants because they are obnoxious, loud, and disruptive little douchebags. We always either order carry out and take it home, take it to a park, or try to find childcare. I can’t imagine subjecting innocent strangers to my children when all they want to do is eat their food in peace.”
Others pointed out that the OP was not dining at a 5-star restaurant. “It was a chipotle isn’t that a fast food place,” someone commented, and, yes, yes it is.
“Yeah, I would not expect top shelf experience from chipotle,” someone else wrote, before adding it’s a place where “a bus of soccer players” are likely to dine. “Not a romantic dinner location.”
Someone else mentioned that the kid did knock the wife’s phone off the table, which, to be fair, is a little annoying. “Yes, it’s fast food and maybe some rowdiness should be tolerated but not running around and knocking stuff off other people’s tables,” someone wrote. “I’m sorry but when I see parents do that it pisses me off too. They’re not even trying to get their children to stop.”
Some people had a little grace when it comes to taking kids out to eat. “I don’t mind parents taking their kids out for dinner because that’s how kids learn how to behave in public,” one person wrote, who is “childfree by choice.” “I understand that sometimes you need to get out of the house to maintain your sanity. Sometimes they’re a handful for no good reason. Sometimes they’re hangry and overtired and just want to scream and cry in frustration. I get it…sometimes I feel like that too.” Yes!
This person added, “As long as your kids aren’t completely out of control and you’re at least pretending to supervise them, then I’m not judging you harshly. Mostly I just think you’re doing a great job for keeping them alive and not going insane (or murdering them — seriously, how long have they been singing baby shark for?). And sometimes it’s kinda fun when one of them magically appears at my table and starts telling me about their day and what they’re having for dinner.”
It works both ways. Parents should be teaching their kids how to act in restaurants (especially when it comes to messing with other people’s stuff), but other people should also have realistic expectations when it comes to dining at fast food joints. Kids exist, they’re loud, and they don’t have to change to fit your unrealistic expectations!
Celebrities — they’re just like us! Especially when it comes to embarrassing their kids.
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