You’ve probably heard about this story already. And no, I’m not talking about the next Batman movie, although I will be discussing that later this week. McDain’s in Monroeville has banned children under six from coming to their restaurant.
It’s been really funny watching my Facebook feed (I don’t have enough friends yet on Google+) explode with reactions to this. Some praise it, others want to storm McDain’s with torches and pitchforks. And as you can imagine, the reactions are drawn along lines of those with and without children.
For the sake of argument, here’s my reaction. When I was younger, my parent’s were considerate (not to say that they aren’t now, because they are, but they were then as well). If we could not behave in a mature enough fashion for a venue they wanted to go to, they either got a sitter and went out, just the two of them, or we didn’t go.
Now, if we went to a place like Chuck E. Cheese or the Ground Round, where you expect to have a “family” atmosphere, and, especially those two, entertainment geared towards children, that is another story. Chances are, all the kids in the restaurant aren’t mature enough to go to nicer restaurants: that’s why we were where we were.
So, I guess I agree with McDain’s. And here’s a radical idea. If you’re not happy with their decision, don’t go there. You don’t have to storm the place and riot. You aren’t losing your rights as a person. For goodness sake, it’s a restaurant at a driving range…in Monroeville. There are plenty of other options you can go to. Heck, walk across the street and get an MTO. I highly recommend the mint chocolate smoothie thing.
