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Is there anything worse than a child having a public meltdown? Or, worse yet, your own child having one? It’s hard to ignore those judgmental faces, the snide comments, and the feeling of regret that you ever brought your child out in the first place. Despite all of these annoyances, at the end of the day kids are kids, and we can’t control everything they do, especially when we’re out and about. Still, we all try our best to keep our little ones calm, cool, and collected whenever we venture out into the heavily populated world.
One dad named Clint Edwards decided to share his experience with his child’s very public meltdown while at Red Robin, and you may be intrigued to hear what he has to say. Clint is the author of “No Idea What I’m Doing: A Daddy Blog”, and his opinions about kids and their tantrums is definitely something worth reading.
“I'm stuck in the van with my toddler. We went out to dinner as a family, and she had a meltdown because mom wouldn't let her throw chicken strips. So she screamed, and screamed, and kicked and kicked, and since I was the only one finished with my meal, I had the pleasure of dragging her out of Red Robin.” his post begins.
“I carried her past the bar and everyone stared at me, most of them childless, I assumed. No one with children would give me that straight faced, lip twisted, look that seems to say, "if you can't control your kid, then don't go out."”
While Clint was well aware of what everyone in the restaurant was thinking, he decided to tell them how he really felt about the situation in his post.
“I can't control her. Not all the time. Not yet. She's two and it's going to take years to teach her how to act appropriately in public, and the only way I am ever going to teach that is to take her out and show her what's right and wrong. By saying no a million times, letting her throw a fit, and telling her no again.”
Clint knows how hard it is to be a parent, and how much harder the role becomes when a child is having a fit. However, he thinks patience is key.
“These lessons take patience, hard work, and real world experiences, and I’m sorry to those at the bar who got irritated by my child's fit, but you are part of this practice. Your parents did the same with you, and that’s how you now know how to recognize when a child does something irritating in a restaurant. It’s how you learned to look at a situation and say, “That parent needs to control their kids.””
Even though Clint knows that kids having meltdowns aren’t ideal in public, he stands by his feelings and hopes more people will learn to understand, and see the bigger picture.
“I get it. Kids are irritating when they are loud in a restaurant. I know. I’m living it. But before you get angry and judgmental, realize that what you are witnessing is not bad parenting, but rather, parents working hard to fix the situation. You are looking at what it takes to turn a child into a person.”
What do you think of Clint’s post? Do you agree?
