We aren't entitled.

Today one of the stories in yahoo really caught my attention. The story was about a UK Eatery charging a baby tax. Now, while I agree that is absolutely ridicoulus, I found the meat of the story to be really annoying. Anybody who reads this and gets offended. Do remember this is my personal opinion and how I choose to live my life. Should a restaurant charge for a baby who is not eating, absolutely not, in no way is that kind or correct. Should a restaurant be able to charge a surcharge, when the parents come in with a toddler and bring in outside food, of course they should. You pay a surcharge if you bring your own wine to a restaurant, why should bringing in your own food be any different. And honestly maybe you should be leaving that child with a sitter while you go out to dinner. When our children were growing up, we did not go out to eat frequently. And not just because of the cost, but because I don' believe that very young children should have to behave appropriately in "grown up restaurants" I don't believe in taking them with. Not that we didn't ever go to dinner, but before the age of 4 we pretty much went to restaurants that were "family oriented" or like MCDonalds. By the time they are 4 they should have been eating at your supper table and being taught the proper way to behave. Which includes, not running around, not being loud and not playing with food. I do not believe that because you made a choice to become a parent that everybody is required to change their lifestyle just for you. If my husband and I go out to a restaurant, I expect to have a nice evening with my partner, which means not watching someone elses child run around, maybe get hurt, or start throwing their food or worse yet crying because they've gotten in trouble for not behaving. I don't believe my children have been scarred for life, or missed out on anything because they did not get to do everything at a younger age. Your life choices do and should impact how you live your life. If you choose to become a parent, recognize that you can't live exactly the same lifestyle you did prior to the arrival of children in your life. And it's not really fair to the children because it deminshes their childhood. If you can afford to go out to eat regularly, switch off, make the decision to go with your friends or your partner with no children most of the time. Or choose to go to "family restaurants" until your children are older. Our generation and the generation behind us has forgotten the basics of living respectfully and yet we are very free with comment on how horrendous the next generation behaves. Next time you want to complain about the way you have been treated, take a look at what caused that treatment first and really consider if it was warranted.