You are the OP of this gem: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/194064.page

The "lol" and "poor thing" are signatures of yours. Your writing style is so OBVIOUS.

Anonymous wrote:We were both boxing our foods in a rush to run out of the place ASAP.

We were also worried abt her getting the check so we were trying to pay attention to that to avoid letting her get it first. It was a lot going on.

I hope next time she listens to me when I suggest it might not be a good idea LOL.

The problem is that you have misplaced your anger. You think that you're annoyed with your friend, but in reality you should be annoyed with yourself. You are the parents and it is YOUR responsibility to care for your child. You knowingly placed your child in a no-win situation, kept him up past his bed-time, took him to a busy place which was sure to overexcite and overstimulate him and when he became hysterical, someone tried something that works in some situations with upset children (read the Happiest Baby on the Block) and ended up with your child crying. You should have been the responsible parent here and avoided the situation by refusing to commit to an evening engagement with the child. Yet, you allowed yourself to be talked into such a situation by someone who is child-free and doesn't understand your child (since some children can handle such a situation).

You should have insisted back to her that your child would not be able to make it and either you could go alone or the whole family would meet her for lunch on Saturday. This is something you will need to learn with your own DS. You are going to have to learn to only give him choices that you find acceptable. So, likewise, with your friend, you should have only given her options that you approve of. By letting her pick an option that wasn't going to work for your family, you set up the no-win situation.

This is like being back in high school or college. A friend convinces you to skip studying for the exam the next day and go out drinking with her. You drink too much, oversleep and miss your exam and you're mad at her for convincing you to go out drinking.

If your friend doesn't have kids...and was at a table with a kid in a complete meltdown and all she did was shush him - she probably deserves a reward.

Now- I realize that having your child scream in a public place can be extremely unnerving and its hard to think straight. But, one of you can take the child and leave the place, while the other boxes the food and pays the bill.

I do feel for you. Our first outing in a restuarant after having a child was my in-laws party. My son started screaming and wouldn't stop. We at first tired to soothe him and this old couple (at the party) kept making nasty remarks, which just stressed me out, and made things worse. We just got up and left (my husband returned, I stayed home with my son).

Anonymous wrote:We were both boxing our foods in a rush to run out of the place ASAP.

We were also worried abt her getting the check so we were trying to pay attention to that to avoid letting her get it first. It was a lot going on.

I hope next time she listens to me when I suggest it might not be a good idea LOL.

OP, you are weird. You laugh now, but according to you, your child stopped breathing and melted down from her shushing him. I hope next time you listen to your child. Get the Fuck out the place is what he was trying to say.

Anonymous wrote:We were both boxing our foods in a rush to run out of the place ASAP.

We were also worried abt her getting the check so we were trying to pay attention to that to avoid letting her get it first. It was a lot going on.

I hope next time she listens to me when I suggest it might not be a good idea LOL.

I hope that next time you stick to your guns and remember that your first responsibility is to your child, and not some random friend that you haven't seen in 4 years...

A little shushing never hurt anyone. Let it go.

We were both boxing our foods in a rush to run out of the place ASAP.

We were also worried abt her getting the check so we were trying to pay attention to that to avoid letting her get it first. It was a lot going on.

I hope next time she listens to me when I suggest it might not be a good idea LOL.

OP, if you were already meeting her for lunch on sat, why didn't you just suggest meeting everyone then? I agree you should have stuck to your guns. Next time you'll know.

Honestly, pre-kid, if I had been at a table with a screaming child, I would have probably done something similar, or at least been annoyed and said something. Really, you or DH couldn't have taken him out while the other waited for boxed food? Now that I'm thinking about this, even NOW that would piss me off. Screaming kids do NOT belong in restaurants when there are two parents present, sorry.

Anonymous wrote:If I was in the restaurant, I would have applauded your friend.

Forgot that. I would have shushed the child myself.

If I was in the restaurant, I would have applauded your friend.

OP, this is NOT the last time your child will be shushed. Get used to it.