re: Restaurant adds $50 ‘unable to parent’ fee for rowdy kids, menu reads

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It's just not that big of deal unless your kid is just locked on the thing constantly. And even then, depending on what they're doing, it's debatable if it's having a negative affect.

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Here's the negative effect I see, and would like to avoid:

Small children turn into big children. Big children turn into teenagers, and teenagers turn into adults.

Restaurants are an incredible place to learn 3 basic things:

1. How to behave at a table appropriately without the need for some sort of placating device (basic dinner table etiquette).
2. How to engage in conversation with other people, regardless of age differences.
3. How to treat people in a service situation (ordering drinks and food, saying please, thank you, asking for things politely, etc).

These skills have to be taught, and I find it sad when I encounter a 8-10 year old (our youngest is 9 so we encounter this age group a lot) that doesn't know how to order food at a restaurant. We've been having our kids order for themselves since they were able to put a few words together.