Good for them.

My husband and I raised two sons. We never took them - when little - to a really nice restaurant. We brought stuff for them to do while we waited for the food. If someone was having a meltdown, it was outside with one parent (if we couldn't negotiate them to be quiet).

It's okay to bring kids to restaurants but realize that for some people, it may be THEIR only grown-up time. Or, they want a quiet meal with friends.

Everyone was a child once so we have to remember that and give kids some leeway. But you don't have to allow it to ruin someone else's dinner.

And, if someone does bring a kid and that kid is barely noticeable, give the parents a pat on the back for a well-behaved child.

kid hater

If a well-liked business has to make it policy, maybe it's time for parents to take stock of themselves. Kids that act out-of-turn usually have parents that act out-of-turn.

My parents pretty much took me everywhere, but I was also an unusually quiet kid.

@2: I hope this is you being facetious. It'd be too stupid to comment on otherwise.

Obviously Monsoon is free to make this choice, but it still grates on me that this is even a choice to be made. I've got 2 kids with whom I've traveled fairly extensively - the US, Latin America, South America, Europe, Asia. It's only a handful of states in the good ol' USA where restaurants must decide whether or not kids are welcome. Just about everywhere else children are seen as part of a normal state of affairs and there isn't such a place as a restaurant that would choose to exclude them - anymore than they would exclude senior citizens or ethnic minorities. Maybe this is my parental bias speaking, but I think we all lose when we can pretend that kids don't exist.

#6, I'll point you to another one of Bethany's articles. Just so you can understand, the reason that she wrote that article is why some people enjoy dining without kids. It's not personal, so stop acting like it is.

http://www.thestranger.com/slog/archives…

I have a 4 year old. I think a kid area and a non-kid area is a fine compromise. Personally, I come down on the "children are part of our society and community" side of things, but I get the opposing argument too. Of course, parents need to be considerate and control their children too.

It takes a village and all, but having been in small, echo prone places with shrieking kids, that shit gets painful at times.

I get that it happens, and if the parents are trying to do something about it I figure that's fine, but when they just sit there any expect everyone else to just take it? Fuck you, when your kid is louder than a rivet gun, you need to do something about it. It's fucking rude.

My parents would only take us kids to restaurants where we could put all the sugar packets, ketchup and mustard in our water glass and then blow bubbles in it with a straw.

Another thing you won't find at Monsoon are any ex-employees ever setting foot in the place again. One of the owners is a little cray-cray...

My parents took Sister Vel-DuRay and I to nice restaurants at an early age, but you better believe we were on our best behavior. Nothing was "negotiated": you behaved yourself or you got The Look That Meant Something (what, I don't know, as they never laid a hand on us in a punishment sense, but whatever it was, it worked)

And it should be said that our parents were considerate. While waiting for our table in the cocktail lounge (something to this day would cause aneurysms in WA state) they would have their drinks, and we would get some non-alcoholic thing with fruit on a tiny plastic sword or paper umbrella. They didn't linger long over coffee afterwards (just one cigarette), and if we had been good, there would be a visit to Howard Johnson's (with their huge soda fountain) afterwards.

But if anyone spazzed out, it was off to the car, no questions asked and no second chance.

This is excellent! They should also ban old people! Seeing an old person ruins my expensive food!!!

Also they should ban that racial minority. You know the one I'm talking about.

Also, it would be great if slog could ban comments by people between the ages of 20 and 40. Thanks.

All I want to know is, can I bring my dog? I sure hope so.

jesus .. a restaurant expanded by adding a bar .. kids aren’t allowed in any bars in washington, you can’t take your kids to any number of places, why is this even a conversation?

What is it about WA, kids, and liquor? I was in CO last Xmas-time when Santa was visiting a small, and I mean tiny small, restaurant & bar; tiny like there was no division between the bar and food tables. The place was full of kids, some of them sitting at the bar (gasp! vapors!) with their 'rents. Everybody was cool & happy. And hell yeah it was noisy but Santa!

Yeah, if I'm able to make the Seattle R&R half I'll give this place a visit.

Here's the thing. I have a hard time with kids. When they scream I have a full on panic attack(raising my little brother was very hard) Massive chest pain, whole 9. Therefore a place where kids are not allowed is a blessing for me as someone for whom kids are literally painful to be around.

I don't see why parents bitch about this. There are restaurants that are a good place to take kids, and ones that are not. If you can't tell the difference, you're a giant asshole.

I'm just glad you're all so focused on anything but the food…Maybe now my favorite restaurant *won't* be overrun with johnny-come-lately's...

I wish restaurants didn't have to be so chickenshit about this, what with engineering in an excuse. Honestly a *lot* of places in seattle should just be no-kids. And they should just put up a sign, not make up an excuse.