Anonymous wrote:Great. I can’t stand seeing families plop their young kids on a phone or iPad at the restaurant table just to keep them entertained while the adults talk.

Maybe you should mind your own beeswax! lol! Speaks to the quality of your company at dinner if all you can think about is what other people are doing at their own tables.

Anonymous wrote:Great. I can’t stand seeing families plop their young kids on a phone or iPad at the restaurant table just to keep them entertained while the adults talk.

I definitely hate this too. But I also hate when adults do it!

I wonder if a restaurant instituted a "no screens at the table" policy if it would essentially function as a ban on a lot of families with young kids because so many families rely on screens to get through a basic meal with kids. Plus the added benefit of never having to listen to a full grown adult have a FaceTime conversation with someone at their table, or watch as two people ignore their server while scrolling social media and barely interacting.

Won't happen as it would be a huge pain to enforce, but I'd love to see more public spaces go anti-phone. Parents would actually have to parent, kids would have to learn how to function in the world, adults would have to remember how to do that as well. Wins all around.

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Anonymous wrote:This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

The intolerance is for the parents who aren’t prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

This is uniquely millennial problem. GenX parents just apologize profusely, put the kid on one shoulder and get a box to go. My 5 year can now sit quietly when crayons or a book - never given a phone or tablet, it takes one time leaving a place they really want to be with the consequence of leaving.

No, it’s not generational. Arrogant parents, who think they and their children are perfect, are every age, everywhere. No doubt you are one of them, just in a different way.

NP. It’s definitely generational. Millennials have been raised to question societal norms. That leads to some good things and some not so good things.

This particular topic is one of the not so good things. Not respecting norms in fine dining establishments. GenX and above wouldn’t take the kids to a nice restaurant. Baby boomers took the kids to McD’s or Pizza Hut and GenX to a chain restaurant like California Pizza Kitchen or a diner.

Millennial’s fancy themselves more like foodies and want what they want and see no problem with bringing young kids in tow.

I partly agree with you. People who take little kids to fancy restaurants and then brag about their kid's refined palate are obnoxious. No matter the generation.

I agree families need to get used to going to family restaurants, and that a lot of parents of young kids now seem to think that's beneath them. We have young kids and some of our friends definitely look down their noses at some of the places we take our kids because they are more "downmarket" -- they have kids menus, they will give you a coloring placemat and crayons, they have restrooms that kids can use, and the staff are totally fine with dealing with children. These are not "cool" places and some people act like that's unacceptable. But when you have young kids, I think it's useful to let go of "cool" -- you are not in your cool time of life. It's okay.

On the other hand, I disagree that this means we have to confine ourselves to fast food and chain restaurants? That's so limiting, plus the food in those places is usually pretty bad. I don't mean "not refined enough" I mean literally bad -- bad for you, often poorly made. Plus McDonalds and Pizza Hut aren't really even dining experiences. At McDonald's you order at a kiosk or counter. Do they have sit-down Pizza Huts anymore? When we talk our kids out, part of what we are doing is training them to learn how to read a menu, order form a server, sit in their seat and behave. The places you are suggesting don't help you with that -- they are barely dining experiences at all.

Two things can be true at once: some parents are entitled about being able to bring their young children to fine dining establishments and unwilling to embrace the reality of parenting young kids and going places appropriate for young kids. AND it's important to have actual family-friendly restaurants, and it sometimes feels like they are hard to come by.

Great. I can’t stand seeing families plop their young kids on a phone or iPad at the restaurant table just to keep them entertained while the adults talk.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am fine with this. I have a 5 yr old who is actually pretty good in restaurants, but I still wouldn't take her to a fancier restaurant and I actually like when restaurants are very up front about the kind of place they are. A lot of restaurants will go out of their way to advertise that they are family-friendly or want to have kids there, and then you show up and they don't have a kids menu and people are annoyed about your kid.

That said, I'd love if there were more truly family-friendly restaurants in DC -- we often eat in the suburbs simply because it's easier to find a place where we know kids are truly welcome.

When I fantasize about opening my own restaurant, I imagine we'd do something called "family hour" a few nights a week, where we do an early service (like 5-7) that is geared specifically for families with young kids, with specials for the kids or family friendly shareables and the whole point would be to get lots of families in there for 90 minutes or so, and kids could learn how to behave in a restaurant without the stress of needing to get it exactly right every time because they are kids and they need more chances than that. Also just an opportunity for families to celebrate a birthday or graduation or something at a nicer restaurant but in a family friendly way. I feel like it could be good for the restaurant and great for families -- real community building and a way to create relationships with customers that could last a really long time because I would be so loyal to a restaurant that went out of it's way to become a part of my family's mealtime in that way.

We live on the Hill and there are many family friendly restaurants over here.

Which Hill restaurants do you consider family friendly? We live near H Street and our go-tos are Union Market and the Roost because the food hall aspect makes it very easy to take kids there. And we love Pupatella (have been fans of their original location for years and thrilled when they came to the Hill). But there are few other places we feel really comfortable taking kids for dinner. Maybe our older kid but not the younger, and definitely not them together because that's a very specific vibe and I don't think it's appropriate to a nicer restaurant. We do take out often for this reason -- just so much easier to enjoy some of our favorite spots when we can do so at home and not worry that the kids are being too messy or loud or won't like the food.

When our kids are tweens/teens, I am sure we will take them out a lot.

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Anonymous wrote:This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

The intolerance is for the parents who aren’t prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

This is uniquely millennial problem. GenX parents just apologize profusely, put the kid on one shoulder and get a box to go. My 5 year can now sit quietly when crayons or a book - never given a phone or tablet, it takes one time leaving a place they really want to be with the consequence of leaving.

No, it’s not generational. Arrogant parents, who think they and their children are perfect, are every age, everywhere. No doubt you are one of them, just in a different way.

NP. It’s definitely generational. Millennials have been raised to question societal norms. That leads to some good things and some not so good things.

This particular topic is one of the not so good things. Not respecting norms in fine dining establishments. GenX and above wouldn’t take the kids to a nice restaurant. Baby boomers took the kids to McD’s or Pizza Hut and GenX to a chain restaurant like California Pizza Kitchen or a diner.

Millennial’s fancy themselves more like foodies and want what they want and see no problem with bringing young kids in tow.

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Anonymous wrote:Im indian american and like Rasika, but have been guilty of bringing kids there a couple of times. There’s simply nothing for them to eat— too spicy. I actually support the policy. Fine dining has its place.

I’m also Indian and think a restaurant can set whatever policy they want. But it is strange for an Indian restaurant to say no kids under 8, no? I mean it solidifies in my mind that it’s not a “real” Indian restaurant.

Why would this be weird? So you think a French restaurant or sushi place could have an age limit, but not an Indian restaurant because it ALL Indian restaurants must be family-friendly? This is weirdly restrictive. There are plenty of family-friendly Indian restaurants in this area. Rasika is one of the more high end/expensive Indian restaurants I know of; it makes sense that they might be less family-friendly.

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Anonymous wrote:This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

The intolerance is for the parents who aren’t prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

This is uniquely millennial problem. GenX parents just apologize profusely, put the kid on one shoulder and get a box to go. My 5 year can now sit quietly when crayons or a book - never given a phone or tablet, it takes one time leaving a place they really want to be with the consequence of leaving.

No, it’s not generational. Arrogant parents, who think they and their children are perfect, are every age, everywhere. No doubt you are one of them, just in a different way.

Nope. My kid is not perfect, but understands she is not the center of the universe, and is capable of self-soothing/entertaining. And yes, it’s absolutely generational and not surprising that the most entitled generation (millennial) has begot the most spoiled and entitled children.

Wait, aren’t Boomers the most entitled? And Gen Xers are lazy?

You have fallen into the trap of labeling people acc to when they were born. It lacks nuance. It’s unsophisticated. It’s a marketing scheme.

What generation is your DD? Is she already being stereotyped?

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Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

The intolerance is for the parents who aren’t prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

This is uniquely millennial problem. GenX parents just apologize profusely, put the kid on one shoulder and get a box to go. My 5 year can now sit quietly when crayons or a book - never given a phone or tablet, it takes one time leaving a place they really want to be with the consequence of leaving.

No, it’s not generational. Arrogant parents, who think they and their children are perfect, are every age, everywhere. No doubt you are one of them, just in a different way.

Nope. My kid is not perfect, but understands she is not the center of the universe, and is capable of self-soothing/entertaining. And yes, it’s absolutely generational and not surprising that the most entitled generation (millennial) has begot the most spoiled and entitled children.

I’m pretty sure baby boomers were not bringing their 4 year olds to fancy restaurants.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids younger than 8 really shouldn't be at a fine dining place for dinner anyway. They are tired, grumpy, etc.

Also, totally random, but I get so annoyed when I see women with babies trying to eat at places like that. The husband ends up sitting there and eating while she is somewhere in the corner, holding the baby in her arms, swaying back and forth. How is that fun for anyone other than the husband?

This is very kid dependent but the restaurant has no way to enforce that. It’s up to the parents to know their kid.

I only have one mild-mannered kid and he is just fine eating out and has been since about age 3. Give him a glass of milk and couple crayons (or not) and he is fine quietly chatting and eating. We also attend classical musical concerts together and have been complimented by old ladies on his behavior. I find it sad because when I was growing up I don’t think it was so atypical for kids to be able to sit still and deal with occasional boredom.

Restaurant also has no way of knowing which kids will sit quietly and which will not; which parents are arrogant and which are not. So they ban all kids. It’s a private establishment and kids are not a protected class. I am good with that.

I don’t care.

Anonymous wrote:Good. Kids younger than 8 really shouldn't be at a fine dining place for dinner anyway. They are tired, grumpy, etc.

Also, totally random, but I get so annoyed when I see women with babies trying to eat at places like that. The husband ends up sitting there and eating while she is somewhere in the corner, holding the baby in her arms, swaying back and forth. How is that fun for anyone other than the husband?

This is very kid dependent but the restaurant has no way to enforce that. It’s up to the parents to know their kid.

I only have one mild-mannered kid and he is just fine eating out and has been since about age 3. Give him a glass of milk and couple crayons (or not) and he is fine quietly chatting and eating. We also attend classical musical concerts together and have been complimented by old ladies on his behavior. I find it sad because when I was growing up I don’t think it was so atypical for kids to be able to sit still and deal with occasional boredom.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

The intolerance is for the parents who aren’t prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

This is uniquely millennial problem. GenX parents just apologize profusely, put the kid on one shoulder and get a box to go. My 5 year can now sit quietly when crayons or a book - never given a phone or tablet, it takes one time leaving a place they really want to be with the consequence of leaving.

No, it’s not generational. Arrogant parents, who think they and their children are perfect, are every age, everywhere. No doubt you are one of them, just in a different way.

Nope. My kid is not perfect, but understands she is not the center of the universe, and is capable of self-soothing/entertaining. And yes, it’s absolutely generational and not surprising that the most entitled generation (millennial) has begot the most spoiled and entitled children.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is not a city or really country that likes children or cares about their general welfare, obvi. I haven’t taken young kid to Rasika and eaten outside on the street scape. I wouldn’t dine inside b/c of general hostility/tolerance for children in US. Do in Italy all the time. But am always prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

The intolerance is for the parents who aren’t prepared to leave if kid were to misbehave.

This is uniquely millennial problem. GenX parents just apologize profusely, put the kid on one shoulder and get a box to go. My 5 year can now sit quietly when crayons or a book - never given a phone or tablet, it takes one time leaving a place they really want to be with the consequence of leaving.

No, it’s not generational. Arrogant parents, who think they and their children are perfect, are every age, everywhere. No doubt you are one of them, just in a different way.

Anonymous wrote:Im indian american and like Rasika, but have been guilty of bringing kids there a couple of times. There’s simply nothing for them to eat— too spicy. I actually support the policy. Fine dining has its place.

I’m also Indian and think a restaurant can set whatever policy they want. But it is strange for an Indian restaurant to say no kids under 8, no? I mean it solidifies in my mind that it’s not a “real” Indian restaurant.