This year, however, I had the unfortunate opportunity of running into two instances of irresponsible parenting.
The first was earlier in the year at Wagamama in Faneuil Hall. If you've ever been there, then you know that the dining room consists of long tables and bench seats, both of which are meant to be shared by neighboring parties. So it was no surprise that I ended up breaking bread (or at least sucking down noodles) beside a man with two young girls. Pre-schoolers, I imagine, since it was lunch time on a school day. Initially I thought, cool, a father taking time out to hang out with his daughters! But the girls got loud. Additionally, one took to standing on the bench, while the other began kicking at the metal leg of the table with gusto. The noise and vibrations began causing me a headache. She kept it up for a significant amount of time with nary a glance from the father whose full attention was on the plate before him. After waiting a reasonable amount of time for this to stop, I got annoyed, finally stopped eating, and began glaring at the father. It wasn't until he spotted me that he finally said anything to his girls!
And then tonight, there were a group of children roaming wild at Apgujung in Newton. That was annoying enough. The manager didn't go have a chat with the parents responsible for them till the kids nearly caused an accident with a waitress bearing a tray. To finish off their mayhem, they knocked over the water at our table as they made their way towards the exit. No sorry, no nothing, from either child or parent. They're lucky they didn't get scalded by the hot water they had spilt!
Please, do not be like these parents! Not only does it annoys those around you, it may actually put your child in danger. Yes, you are out for a good time, but that does not mean that you relinquish your responsibilities as a parent.
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