The Maine Restaurant and the all the Screaming

[not_nadine]

This has been quite the debate as to who is in the wrong, with most siding with the restaurant owner.

Mom of Child Yelled at by Maine Diner Owner Explains What Happened - ABC News

 

[Out of Order]

Shut that kid up while I eat my griddlecakes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[skimom2]

From what I read, both parties behaved badly. The parents, in not taking care of the problem (letting your kid scream bloody murder in a public place for 40 minutes? Really?), and the owner for shouting. For my part, I tend to side with the owner, as well. The family with screamo-kid had the option to leave; she didn't, and she had the right to look out for the rest of her patrons. They all behaved ridiculously.

 

[80sFan]

As a parent of 2 (one of whom is autistic) I actually sided with the owner - at first (who let's their kid cry for 40 minutes????).
Then I saw the owner's profanity-laden facebook response to the customers (who were backed by other customers saying the kid whined and cried for maybe 10 minutes) where the owner admitted she had a problem with them since the waitress took their order because they ordered 3 full size pancakes for the child.
My opinion is, if your establishment serves pancakes (and unless it says on the menu there is an age minimum for said pancakes), then stop bitchin' and make the damn pancakes.
Also, she lost all credibility by using the F-bomb every other word on her establishment's page.

 

[bobledrew]

See, back in the pre-internet days, these sorts of things would have been worked out -- or not -- between the parents and the owner. Now, it becomes a whole deal. (And THIS comes from a person who makes a living in social media. Hypocrisy, thy name is me.)

 

[doowopgirl]

All I know is someone had to do something.

 

[Liselle]

If your child is that upset you go somewhere else that has quicker service, or you bring something for your child to do such a colouring book, book etc. It's not rocket science, kid's get bored and need something to distract them. Not impressed with all the profanity from the owner though.

 

[PatInTheHat]

Mmmmm, yeah that's what ya wanna give a screamin' brat that won't sit still and behave, massive carbs.

 

[drinkslinger]

Both parties were in the wrong in this situation. The parents on a few accounts: for refusing to comfort the child, for refusing to leave when asked by the owner, and then for calling the situation out on facebook and asking other members of a facebook mom's group to attack the business, and then writing an obviously biased account of it in the Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/07/22/im-the-mom-whose-encounter-with-an-angry-maine-diner-owner-went-viral-heres-what-happened/. That article has garnered more than 7k comments; when I read it yesterday, most of which sided with the owner of the diner.

The owner didn't act professionally either. I can understand being upset about what was happening in her business, but she should have taken it up with the parents. There's absolutely no reason to scream at the toddler. Her response to the mom's facebook post and subsequent interviews with the media don't make me sympathize with her at all.

I honestly think that they both deserve any harsh judgement that this firestorm has earned them.

 

[80sFan]

Well said, drinkslinger.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...it's the owners right to ask them to leave....maybe she wasn't professional about it...but, I'm with her....I always seem to get stuck in the wailing infant section with Tracy when we dine out, and I understand the frustration....

 

[hipmamajen]

Yeah, I can't get behind either of the parties here. Nobody wins and the poor baby loses.

The restaurant owner doesn't get any points for expecting a toddler to behave better than she was able to. Plus, it appears she was yelling AT the baby, and using profanity, according to some accounts. Even if she wasn't, she lost her cool and scared a baby. Jeez, lady, maybe try your inside voice first?

At the same time, the parents should have been able to manage that situation, especially with 2 of them. I've been taking kids to restaurants for nearly 20 years, and some really, really awful things* have happened, but we dealt with it all and didn't make it everyone else's problem.

*Oh Sweet Horus, such awful things...

 

[FlakeNoir]

Yeah, I can't get behind either of the parties here. Nobody wins and the poor baby loses.

The restaurant owner doesn't get any points for expecting a toddler to behave better than she was able to. Plus, it appears she was yelling AT the baby, and using profanity, according to some accounts. Even if she wasn't, she lost her cool and scared a baby. Jeez, lady, maybe try your inside voice first?

At the same time, the parents should have been able to manage that situation, especially with 2 of them. I've been taking kids to restaurants for nearly 20 years, and some really, really awful things* have happened, but we dealt with it all and didn't make it everyone else's problem.

*Oh Sweet Horus, such awful things...

I agree wholeheartedly.

1) It wasn't the baby's issue, the situation was completely out of her control. The owner was unprofessional in the extreme.

2) Why couldn't one parent take her out for a ride in the car/taxi until the food arrived? I'm assuming both mum and dad had cell phones?

3) Are you seriously telling me Mom and Dad that you went out to eat without bringing along food snacks and entertainment for bubs? She is a toddler, so you have been doing this for a number of months by now, right?

 

[not_nadine]

I am pretty sure from the article (or another one) that the owner had asked politely 3 times prior losing her cool. I agree - not the child's fault and she should have never addressed the child directly.

 

[FlakeNoir]

I am pretty sure from the article (or another one) that the owner had asked politely 3 times prior losing her cool. I agree - not the child's fault and she should have never addressed the child directly.

Oh I see... I may have missed the owner's initial contact with them. (I couldn't get the original link to open for me)

 

[not_nadine]

I will make sure about that, I should have before I posted.

 

[staropeace]

I would do allow my child to continue the screaming for that long. I would, at least, remove the child to sooth him or her and return.
I am not impressed with the owner. Such low-class behaviour! If I owned a cafe that catered to adults and children, I would have treats to placate the little ones and keep them occupied. Crayons and colouring books would be a nice idea....things like that.

 

[not_nadine]

The diner owner says that she had asked the family to leave, or take the girl outside, when her crying became too much, but when that didn’t work, she slammed her hands down onto the counter and told the girl to be quiet.

“After listening to a child scream at the top of her lungs in my very busy restaurant, I screamed at her and told her it had to stop. Her parents didn’t want to leave. They didn’t seem to even notice that she was crying,”

Maine Diner Owner Causes Viral Uproar After Yelling At Crying Child

 

[80sFan]

I'm not siding with the parents (one of us ALWAYS removes our child from the establishment if he acts up - or if we even see him heading in that direction) but remember, this was a diner not the Russian Tea room. And from the owner's demeanor, not friendly place to eat anyway.

 

[drinkslinger]

I understand why this story has gained international attention. A lot of people are fed up with parents who act as though their "speshul snowflake" can do no wrong and feel like the whole world should treat their offspring the way they do: by fawning over them. It's really out of control. And I say this as the mother of...wait for it...a toddler. I realize that while I think my daughter is the cat's meow, I'm viewing her through mother's eyes. Not everyone else will feel that way. I try to be courteous to others when out in public with my daughter; it's the way I was raised, so if I really had to pick sides here, I'd side with the owner not the parents. The mom's story in the WaPo smacked of entitlement. That being said, the owner comes across as a bit of a whack job. I'm in Portland quite a bit, and I definitely will not go out of my way to give her my hard earned money.