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Have you heard about the woman who owned the restaurant and posted some pictures on Facebook? After a particular family with young children left she posted a picture on of the mess they left on the floor. It started a firestorm of pro’s and con’s of children in restaurants.

So I’m weighing in There’s a time and place for everything. Playtime and running around is for home or the great out-of-doors. It is not for restaurants or movie theaters or even the grocery store. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen children running, actually running, in the grocery store. I’ve been known to say something to them. I’ve also been known to say something to parents in restaurants whose children are seriously misbehaving.

My children were small once, too, so I get it. I really do. But whatever happened to manners? Whatever happened to parents doing their job and paying attention to their children’s public behavior? It’s not the children I get upset with; it’s the parents. I realize parents think their children are adorable. I’m sure they are–to them. But their children are not necessarily adorable to everyone else.

Some restaurants have a “seven by seven” policy which means no children under seven after seven. Makes perfect sense to me. Besides shouldn’t parents be getting their children ready for bed anyway by that time?

I’m not expecting children to behave perfectly in public but can we all agree there is such a thing common sense. So let’s all start exercising some of it.