Babies in the dining room

[Koval]

If a baby cries for 1 second, it is time to remove them.

Ok, real life. A second really?

I agree.

 

I also think that adults who act like idiots, have zero manners, talk too loud, laugh too loud, or cackle should also be removed from the dining room.

"Waiter, where did all the people go..." :eek:

[Nunu]

and I was just disagreeing because the answer doesn't seem to be 'yes'. The vast majority of people here agree with the OP and like I stated, I think off the boards, the vast majority of parents do as well...at least that is my opinion from my experiences.

Do you often experience ruined dinners from wailing babies? :confused: Maybe you do.....if so you would have a different opinion.

 

 

Actually, come to think of it, I have more experineces with toddlers and young kids running around tables (not on a cruise, but in restaurants)

That is equally annoying.

 

I do agree that there isn't much you can do about it. I wouldn't say anything...but I likely would toss a dirty look.

 

The hairy eyeball thing?

[halos]

"waiter, where did all the people go..." :eek:

 

lmao!! :D

 

The hairy eyeball thing?

 

LOL, yup!! :D

[sharecruises]

Of course babies have a "right" to be on board...and any baby may fuss or cry or whimper...but 15 minutes???

the parents who sat and kept stuffing their own faces are the ones to blame

also from what OP wrote, this was NOT just one night...but went on thru the cruise...that is just wrong

 

maybe the baby needed diaper changed, was hungry..or colic or whatever..

 

just inexcusable...I am glad I do late seating I will say

[Jeafl]

wow, i can't imagine that.

 

 

i don't know when a dining room was ever considered adults only! in a movie theatre i would expect people to leave if their child misbehaved but in the dining room? throwing a fit/tantrum, yes, i could see leaving with the child for some discipline...but a baby crying! no way should they be expected to leave. if children do not start out at an early age learning how to behave properly, then you'll end up with an older kid misbehaving.

 

/QUOTE]

 

 

With all due respect, this seems a little backwards to me. I believe the way to teach a child to behave in a restaurant IS to remove them when they start crying. Once they learn that if they are going to be disruptive they cannot stay, they usually straighten up.

 

My kids have been going to nice restaurants since they were a few weeks old. They all learned at a very young age what is acceptable behavior and what is not. Once they were removed a time or two for screwing around, they got the point. I have not had to worry about their behavior out in public since they were toddlers (thank God!)

[nessz79]

I bet most of the people who do not want to hear crying babies, and think that babies are in an adult area like in a restuarant or on a ship at all for that matter are probably people who were born prior to 1964

 

Although I think that has some truth to it, there are also many of us born after 1964 who were raised by parents who taught us to be respectful to others and traditions. My boys are 6 and 5 years old and we've toted them along to restaurants all their lives. HOWEVER, we have always taken them to restaurants that are appropriate for their ages, at times that were more kid-friendly, and have always removed them when we have felt that their fussiness or tantrums were potentially disturbing other people.

 

The boys are now very well-behaved in restaurants, with the occasional meltdown here and there. They aren't perfect and they still embarrass me from time to time. But they know that they will still be removed if need be.

 

Personally, I feel so sorry for little ones when I see them in a restaurant at 8 or 9 at night. They are usually very exhausted and cranky and their parents are trying to force them through a dinner. Not only are often they disturbing the other patrons, but are making their kids miserable.

[meatball77]

I don't have a problem with a baby fussing or a kid being a little louder or looking around the restaraunt on their knees in a booth as long as it's not excessive and they're staying in their seats.

 

If a kid is crying and can't be calmed down you leave. You don't let your kids run around in circles unless they're someplace that's safe and empty (so they can't get hurt/mess things up and they're not bothering anyone). If your child can't handle a two hour sit down meal then they should eat at camp carnival.

[Nunu]

I don't have a problem with a baby fussing or a kid being a little louder or looking around the restaraunt on their knees in a booth as long as it's not excessive and they're staying in their seats.

 

If a kid is crying and can't be calmed down you leave. You don't let your kids run around in circles unless they're someplace that's safe and empty (so they can't get hurt/mess things up and they're not bothering anyone). If your child can't handle a two hour sit down meal then they should eat at camp carnival.

 

Can kids even eat at Camp Carnival? I know babies wouldn't be there but what about the other age groups?

[halos]

. They aren't perfect and they still embarrass me from time to time. .

:D

 

:D

 

They don't yet realize that paybacks are a...you know. :D

When they're teens, you can embarass them right back.

 

It really feels good to get even :D

[CanadianMommyof2]

Can kids even eat at Camp Carnival? I know babies wouldn't be there but what about the other age groups?

 

Yes, our kids (5 & 3) ate with the Camp Carnival group every night on our last cruise. I will tell you it was a nice treat for DH and I to have a nice meal together alone but at the same time we missed having them with us because it was a "family" vacation. Our children have been on a couple of cruises now and are very well behaved at dinner but if they were to act up we would remove them from the dining room. On our first cruise they both got sick and we tried to have a meal in the dining room but it just didn't work so the waiter got our meals ready so we could take them back to the room with us. As a parent I feel badly for another parent that has a crying child, especially if they are trying to calm the child...I'm sure they are embarrassed but if the parent is simply ignoring the behavior then that is rude and disrespectful. What bothers me more are the parents that let their children run around the dining room, that is unsafe and I'm sure they would be filing a complaint if their child got hurt/burnt by a hot meal.

[PittsburghGirlee]

I couldn't agree more......

 

We were on the Glory in May and a family of SIX - yes SIX were seated in a BOOTH behind us. :eek::eek:Mom, Dad, 1 set of twins and 2 younger children. The Twins were put in high chairs on the end of the booth which made it very difficult for the Extremely Accomodating wait staff to manuvere around. Mom was in one booth with a 5 year old, Dad was in the other booth seat with the 7 year old.

 

The 5 and 7 year old was climbing on the booth backs and kicking them the 4 nights that they showed up for dinner. I felt the kicking almost all thru my dinner on these 4 nights. Twins were screaming and crying for at least 20 minutes every night.:mad::mad:

 

Parents did not say a word or leave. There were a large group sitting in the middle of the dining room that finally said something to the parents and they just ignored.

 

I gave so much credit to the wait staff for being professional and never once throwing the HAIRY EYEBALL there way. Kudos to them. The other dining passagers were not so accomodating, although they just turned to deaf ear.

 

The twins were sitting next to one of those pillars that they wait staff dance on and they were always trying to grab something that was put there. They even tried to grab the waitstaff when they got on top to dance. Parents thought this was funny.

 

Needless to say, everyone was happy the nights that the table was empty.

 

I did not ask to be moved because they were not there the first night and showed up about every other night so it was not a total waste. They were not there for the 2 formal nights thankfully.

 

Just my experience.

[gaylensgigi]

My grandson,7, went on his first cruise with us this summer. We had a great time. He knows he is expected to act like a gentleman when out in public.BUT.he chose to eat at Camp Carnivalevery night!!If I had not insisted that he eat with us twice, he would have been "With my friends". Cudos to Camp Carnival and its staff.They provide a great service to the adults and an excellent social opportunity for the kids.

 

BTW,if he had acted up in the MDR,he would have been removed in a heartbeat

[SATXLady]

I love babies as much as the next person, but if they are fussing, please remove them from the dining room. My brother brought his baby on our cruise in May, and if she was fussy, either her mom or dad took her back to the cabin for some quiet time or a nap. We just got off the Fascination this morning, and every night in the Imagination diningroom there was a baby who would start crying about 15-20 minutes into the meal. I was so grateful that we were two tables away, and not any closer. I found these parents to be rude and inconsiderate. When I had babies I didn't take them to adult places... I know things may be different now, but if they are fussing, be considerate to your fellow diners...please... and remove the crying baby!

 

I'm with you 100%.

 

wow, i can't imagine that.

 

babies cry, toddlers fuss.

 

i don't know when a dining room was ever considered adults only! in a movie theatre i would expect people to leave if their child misbehaved but in the dining room? throwing a fit/tantrum, yes, i could see leaving with the child for some discipline...but a baby crying! no way should they be expected to leave. if children do not start out at an early age learning how to behave properly, then you'll end up with an older kid misbehaving.

 

i certainly would not expect anyone to take their child out of the dining room for crying. it's a baby! you were actually one too once...and i bet you cried even in a dining room.

 

You are surely joking. Along with everyone else on this board, I too believe that if they cry for more than a very few minutes, one of the parents should remove the child from the dining area.

[nrdsb4]

wow, i can't imagine that.

 

babies cry, toddlers fuss.

 

i don't know when a dining room was ever considered adults only! in a movie theatre i would expect people to leave if their child misbehaved but in the dining room? throwing a fit/tantrum, yes, i could see leaving with the child for some discipline...but a baby crying! no way should they be expected to leave. if children do not start out at an early age learning how to behave properly, then you'll end up with an older kid misbehaving.

 

i certainly would not expect anyone to take their child out of the dining room for crying. it's a baby! you were actually one too once...and i bet you cried even in a dining room.

 

:confused::confused::confused:

 

 

I find your attitude absolutely astounding. How is letting a baby wail for 20 minutes teaching them how to behave properly? A baby cries because he has needs that are not being met at that moment. For his sake as well as for the other diners, he should be removed and fed or changed or put to bed or comforted.

 

I'm a mother and I would never sit in a dining room ignoring my baby's cries and I wouldn't want to inflict his suffering onto other passengers either.

[TnTnFlorida]

WOW! I just posted this last night...and came back to find 4 pages of posts! For the person who asked why bother posting this? It is in hopes that even one person might read this and decide to remove their crying baby, who otherwise might have been oblivious to the fact that others are bothered.

 

I remember one time many years ago our family was out at a steak house, with 2 children, age 5 and 3. My 3 year old was ADORABLE! He was being playful, climbing around the booth and getting the attention of the people behind us. As cute as I KNEW he was, this is not appropriate behavior in a restarant, so after a few warnings, my husband wolfed down his dinner and took our son out to sit in the car while my daughter and I finished eating. The 3 year old thought it was a game and continued laughing and smiling...until DD and I walked out and got into the car and we all drove home! He cried and cried that he didn't get to go back in and eat his french fries! But let me tell you, the next time we said, "If you don't behave yourself you are going to the car"... he knew we meant it!

 

 

The baby I refered to in the original post cried EVERY NIGHT. My husband pointed out that the MD was very noisy, and the baby was probably very unsettled being there with the noise and chaos. Good chance they were not on their normal schedule of eating and naps. We felt bad for the baby...but still felt the parents were rude and inconsiderate. The parents did not seem to be bothered though.:cool:

[ckekjhaze]

Leave at the first whimper? Probably not.... after 60 seconds of continual crying ....yes get up and take the baby for a change of scenery. One full minute, that's a long time if you are listening to a baby crying. That's why people exaggerate, 15-20 min of continual crying is unlikely but it sure seems like a long time. One minute is long enough to offer a paci or toy or snack or breast, whatever you as a parent know calms the child.

 

I just had to comment on this

yeah..it's an inconvenience and lot of work and yes, I left carts full of groceries in supermarkets and left dinners in restaurants to get cold.

 

yeah, that's a lot of work putting all those groceries away- and I'm sure not appreciated by the grocery store. My kids aren't angels and I had 3 in 2 yrs- the youngest are twins- but I knew our limits and was able to head off meltdowns.

 

As infants my kids were easy because I could nurse them discreetly under my sling, but would I have taken them to the MDR at 2 yrs old and and expected them to sit through a 2 hr dinner? No. We went on all-inclusives at least 3 times a yr when the kids were that age and always did the buffets until the twins were 4. Every family is different though, every child is different.

 

We went on our first cruise this past July and honestly there were no screaming babies in the MDR any of the nights- guess we were lucky.

[airlink diva]

When my children cried in any restaurant or store or any public place, I removed them.

 

yeah..it's an inconvenience and lot of work and yes, I left carts full of groceries in supermarkets and left dinners in restaurants to get cold. But parenting is a lot of work and I understood that when I took on the huge responsibility of becoming a Mom.

 

OP I agree with you 100%. Babies will be babies. That doesn't mean that people eating a nice dinner out need to listen to my child wail. That's just bull.

 

Amen sister!! I have a nephew and we were out dining one evening. He got into a very fussy vocal mode. I picked him up, told the waitress that we would be right back and I took him to the restroom area. When he calm down, we headed back to our table.

I know that kids will be kids, but at a certain point, remove them from areas with others to calm down.

[halos]

I just had to comment on this

 

yeah, that's a lot of work putting all those groceries away- and I'm sure not appreciated by the grocery store.

 

It happened twice. The carts were not left for anyone to put anything away...they were left aside and where where I left them when I returned into the store 15 minutes later after having my child out in the parking lot or back in the car until I figured out what the heck she was screaming about.

Just so you know....

 

The point is, that a screaming child should be removed from any situation.

My intent is always to try to have other people in mind, hence I would not be leaving carts full of stuff to be restocked. ;)

 

We went on our first cruise this past July and honestly there were no screaming babies in the MDR any of the nights- guess we were lucky.

 

I honestly don't think it's a common thing. Like I said, I have never experienced it on a cruise either and I've been on 12.

 

Amen sister!! I have a nephew and we were out dining one evening. He got into a very fussy vocal mode. I picked him up, told the waitress that we would be right back and I took him to the restroom area. When he calm down, we headed back to our table.

I know that kids will be kids, but at a certain point, remove them from areas with others to calm down.

 

Most of the time it takes so little to calm them down...just like it takes so little to set them off!! :eek: ;)

 

Once while driving in the car, my DD was in the back seat and burst into hysterical sobs. I couldn't get out of her what was wrong. She was very young...in the car seat...maybe 2 or 3???. I didn't know if she was being pinched or it was too tight...I had no clue. I pulled over and got in the back seat and started unbuckling her when she said, "Mommy, that song on the radio is so sad."

:eek:

Yeah, she was crying hysterically because Louis Armstrong's, "what a wonderful world" touched her....

 

I started going gray at that point.....

[tuff2]

One good solution is not to bring babies on a cruise. There is nothing for them to do. They just take up space that could better be used by adult cruisers.

[ckekjhaze]

My intent is always having other people in mind,

 

and that's so commendable:) same here, i never wanted to be the family that an establishment didn't want to see coming, and was happy when we left, and really how are kids going to learn to be considerate of others if they don't see their parents practicing consideration?

[luddite]

wow, i can't imagine that.

 

babies cry, toddlers fuss.

 

i don't know when a dining room was ever considered adults only! in a movie theatre i would expect people to leave if their child misbehaved but in the dining room? throwing a fit/tantrum, yes, i could see leaving with the child for some discipline...but a baby crying! no way should they be expected to leave. if children do not start out at an early age learning how to behave properly, then you'll end up with an older kid misbehaving.

 

i certainly would not expect anyone to take their child out of the dining room for crying. it's a baby! you were actually one too once...and i bet you cried even in a dining room.

 

I was going to reply to this. Then, I figured, "why bother?"

What a selfish attitude.

[Tbay-eh]

When our children were young we took them to family restaurants - as they got older we took them to more adult fare restaurants. When they acted up or misbehaved anyplace they were removed and soon learned that certain behaviour was not tolerated. I was at an office one time with my children when they started to act up - I snapped my fingers and they sat down immediately, the receptionist asked what just happened and I said they know "that after the snap is the slap" - I have very seldom every slapped my children but she didn't know that and was impressed, sometimes just a threat works. My kids - now 24 and 21 had the rule "respect yourself and others and never harm yourself or others". We have been on cruises but not until they were older and well behaved but that was our choice. I love children and my own but would never expect others to put up with a crying cranky child - take them back to cabin, you could probably use the break as well.

[GayleR]

Why are these kind of posts started? I'm guessing it's just to state an opinion, because it's not going to stop anyone from doing what they are doing. Besides, EVERYONE on this board seems to do the "right thing". NO ONE one these boards have unruly teenagers, kids on heelys, kids unsupervised, bad toddlers, or excessively crying babies. Sure, some people may take their kids out of school for a cruise, but other than that, everyone does the right thing.

 

If you read Almost Packed, you know that your above comment is not true. LOL ;) Seriously though, CC makes up what, less than 5% of the cruising population? So theorectically all of our kiddos could be faultless. :D

 

I also think that adults who act like idiots, have zero manners, talk too loud, laugh too loud, or cackle should also be removed from the dining room.

 

One spring break while we were cruising with our then 12, 11, and 11 year old kiddos, we were seated next to a group of college aged kids. Their (the college-aged students) behavior was obnoxious to say the least. You would have thought that they had a private dining room. After 2 nights of their rudeness, I grabbed one of the girl's arms and said something to the effect of we have listened to you and your loud group for 2 nights. Enough is enough. Either quiet down or go to the Lido deck. She gave me the "hairy eyeball" but guess what? They stopped being so obnoxious. Occasionally they would start to get loud and all I had to do was give them the "mom look" and the quieted down again. I had 3 tables worth of people say thank you for saying something.

 

Like some of the other posters said, if a baby is crying there is usually something wrong whether it's over stimulation, a wet diaper, or a tummy ache. Ignoring them is just plain cruel IMHO.

[Little]

One good solution is not to bring babies on a cruise. There is nothing for them to do. They just take up space that could better be used by adult cruisers.

 

 

There is always one. If you don't like cruises with babies then pick a cruiseline that doesn't allow them.

[Kurbanfan]

one good solution is not to bring babies on a cruise.

 

 

:d:d