I think all of us have gone to a restaurant at some time when a noisy child nearly ruins it for everyone. The father in this story deals with it in a way I hope you all enjoy.

http://www.malespank.net/viewStory.php?id=23335

Chauncey has done it again!

Taking what once would have been a fairly common occurrence and making the reader feel that they were actually there in that restaurant while having the gaps filled in terms of the things they could have only surmised.

A great job.

It's hard to be the middle child! I'm glad Marky got exactly what he needed and then a nice nap!

Great job.

Both votes

Boy, Chauncey, are you ever right about how common a scene this has become! I've sometimes felt really torn--natural annoyance that an expensive meal in a restaurant is disrupted and sympathy for a child when he gets in trouble. (And I can still feel remember what it was to be the child!)

Chauncey, I really feel a part of the scene from how well you describe it. It's amazing how you can make me sympathize with all the characters, from the waitress to Dad to poor, willful little Marky.

Kat

Spot on Chauncey

Reading this story reminded me of an occasion when I was on a walking holiday with my ten year old grandson. He liked his food and to try out new dishes and on the final day of the holiday I took him to a good restaurant for a treat.

We discussed the a la carte menu, ordered and enjoyed an excellent meal together. I had noticed the couple on the next table looking across at us several times and as they got up to leave they came across and congratulated him on his behaviour. They had two boys themselves, one about his age and one a bit younger; they would never have dared bring them to a place like this they told me.

How sad.

MemoryMan wrote:Spot on Chauncey

Reading this story reminded me of an occasion when I was on a walking holiday with my ten year old grandson. He liked his food and to try out new dishes and on the final day of the holiday I took him to a good restaurant for a treat.

We discussed the a la carte menu, ordered and enjoyed an excellent meal together. I had noticed the couple on the next table looking across at us several times and as they got up to leave they came across and congratulated him on his behaviour. They had two boys themselves, one about his age and one a bit younger; they would never have dared bring them to a place like this they told me.

How sad.

It is conditioning I think.If you are brought up to eat family meals as a family your kids will pick up the social skills as you go along. If you eat in front of the tv and only take your kids to Macdonalds they won't have the patience or the know how to behave in a decent restaurant. In my childhood I and my siblings sometimes learn't how to behave the hard way('') at family meal times but to be taken to a restaurant for an expensive meal was a treat that was not abused. The French are so much better at this than in the UK and restaurants are geared up for large family gatherings with children of all ages.

First of all I want to thank all of you for your kind comments. I love it when a story sparks a conversation. Sometimes it's hard today to know who should get the spanking, the parents who brought the child up the way he is, or the child who is acting up! Marky's dad was from a generation that had higher expectations than many parents today seem to.