When I was a kid, WAY back in the 70's, restaurants were places parents went to to take a break from the kids. When we did go out with them, it was to places like Skipper's for all-you-can-eat night (3 boys) or Royal Fork.
My first time in a "real" restaurant was for my 13th b'day. We went to "Denny's in the Sky" (Space Needle) and I think I was too petrified by the (perceived) formality of the place to be a real problem to the staff.
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As a cook, I've seen some doozies, but my all-time favorite happened at a place I worked at in the Tangletown neighborhood near Green Lake. One busy early Summer evening, a woman and her child got up from their walk-in 8 adult 4 child table and proceeded to push her child around the restaurant on a scooter while she was ROLLERBLADING!!
Plenty of other stories from that place. I swear the people who live in that part of Wallingford have a psychopathic sense of entitlement I have never experienced anywhere else. So many of them are completely oblivious to their impact on those in their immediate area. It's like they're floating through life in a bubble.

4 children- youngest around 6 or 7, 3 others maybe around 10 or 11.

I'm curious how old the children were too. I find it strange that if they were pretty young the parents wouldn't find it important to enjoy a family meal together.

Just curious - how old were the children?

and no JoB there table was in the part of the restaurant where minors are allowed.

I can't believe people don't feel the same way I do. I actually talked to our wonderful server and she said they do this every couple of months or so and never ask if it's okay their children sit unattended. They sit at the bar and drink while their kids sit by themselves 20 feet away. And sitting right next to the kids hearing them say "hey give me a coke". But it makes me sick that not only the children but the parents have no manners at all.

was their table in the bar?

I am not going to judge here. we dont know the circumstances of the situation. I know when I was a child my siblings and I really wanted to sit by ourselves with our cousins. So, our parents, asked the wait staff if it was okay. the wait staff said sure. So we sat at our table. and our parents sat at theirs. It ended up being a great evening for everyone.

MrJT

have you actually visited the dog owner wall of shame website?

along with the pictures are links to resources that educate pet owners about the law and why it might be in their best interests to follow it.

It is very nicely done.

A similar site for parents who sit drinking at the bar while feeding their kids at a table in the restaurant would get my vote...

i am not in favor of a nanny state...

but it seems parents stopped teaching their kids basic civility some time ago and it is such an epidemic problem that the city of Tacoma is considering putting up signboards with citizen suggested lessons in civility.

As it was put in Tacoma, it would be good if you could feel it was safe to knock on a neighbor's door without expecting a gun to be shoved in your face.

So far.. i haven't had a gun shoved in my face when i asked someone to take care of their animals or their children...

but i have been threatened and even without threats I couldn't report their replies here... the words used would never pass the censors.

it is a long leap from public censure to a nanny state... a boundary we are not even close to crossing.

Oh, my confusion. I thought the kids were running into the bar to their parent.

This is a bar where you can bring children although they are not "kid-friendly"; They have a separation between the bar and restaurant. So no violations of the liquor control board.

Wow, if the children were running into the bar to make numerous requests of the errant parent, there is a liquor license problem. Kids are not allowed in bars even for short periods of time and the bar/restaurant staff should have intervened to assure keeping their license.

There were in some states, family taverns where kids and families could go so parents could raise a pint and the kids could have a plate of fries. I'm not sure if that is good or bad; but it was a solution for the behavior you witnessed.

Bsmomma; sounds scary, real scary. I know an inordinate number of children with disabilities like autism and downs syndrome. My first thought when reading your post was about the child; and what might be going on with him. I'm glad it all turned out O.K.

I'd like to add another "parent of the year" happening..... I was driving through the PCC parking lot yesterday when all of a sudden, the car in front of me stopped......... because a little boy ran in front of his car. The little boy then ran around the car in front of me only to run in front of it AGAIN! The little boy ran across the alley and started pounding on the door of what I think was his home? I don't even know what to say.........

Never too soon to teach your kids how to drive?

And also the parents were all drinking. I couldn't say if they drove home but it looked like they were sure having a good time at the bar.

Seriously....also let me elaborate this was no bar/restaurant I would ever take my kids too. And the poor server with the kids running all over the place. Since when is the restaurant take the place of a baby sitter.

anatidaephobia...and therein lies the problem...

As a parent, I think that's no big deal UNLESS there isn't a non-drinking adult left to drive the kids and other adults home.

You should have taken a picture of the unleashed children and posted it on a website to shame the parents.

to Wow...guess we all have our own ways of parenting..maybe that saves on a babysitting fee...lol. I would think the 4 kids would consume more than what a sitter costs. Giving birth is a no-brainer. Being a parent, well, that sometimes take a bit more education and thought...

pigeonmom...don't you know that he's the more entitled one? How dare you honk....you're supposed to let him run you off the road, it's the nice thing to do ;-)

I'll add another curious happening.

NB on 35th Ave SW, I am in left lane, a pickup truck to my right starts drifting towards me, crossing the line and coming into my lane.
I honk, he rolls down window and flips ME off.

While out at a local restaurant with a girlfriend of mine I noticed a curious thing happening. I noticed 4 children sitting at a table unattended with their parents 20 feet away sitting at the bar drinking. The reason I noticed was because they would run back and forth from their table to the bar asking their parents for stuff. Since when did this become okay?? I would never sit with my girlfriend while leaving my kids unattended, I just get a babysitter.