Texas Restaurant Ruffles Feathers with Its New ‘Rule Cards’ for Children

Kids in restaurants are a contentious issue. Some people have no problem bringing tiny infants to very posh fine-dining restaurants, while others seem to be of the opinion that no person under the age of 18 should be allowed in a restaurant that does not have a singing mouse on staff. But now one Texas restaurant has struck for a middle ground with a set of “rules cards” telling kids in the restaurant how to behave.

According to Eater, Cuchara Restaurant in Houston, Texas, started putting little printed “rules cards” on its tables for families with children. The cards are basically postcards with illustrations of well-behaved children sitting happily at the table and having dinner with their parents. The cards read: “Children at Cuchara don’t run or wander around the restaurant. They stay seated and ask their parents to take them to the restroom. They don’t scream, throw tantrums or touch the walls, murals, windows or other patrons. They are respectful!”

Overall the response to the cards has been positive, but the owners say some parents have been irritated by the cards.

”We’ve had some backlash,” owner Charlie McDaniel said to Yahoo Parenting. ”Some parents read the card, throw it on the ground, and let their kids play unsupervised.”

The restaurant owners say they’ve had a lot of problems with children being allowed to run around unsupervised. Cuchara is a Mexican bistro and waiters carry trays with very heavy plates loaded with hot, heavy dishes, and it could be dangerous for kids to be underfoot where a server couldn’t see them. Also, the owners say that unsupervised kids have taken to damaging the restaurant’s artwork. Last month one child was left unattended even after servers asked his parents to make him sit down, and the kid allegedly gouged the the walls with a quarter and did $1,500 worth of damage.

Honestly, this does not bug me that much. Sure, it’s a little rude to assume one’s guests would need such a reminder, but evidently Cuchara’s customers do need that reminder.

The restaurant does not even say children are not welcome. Kids are totally fine at Cuchara Restaurant, they just have to sit at the table and not be allowed to run amok in the hallways or scratch the walls with quarters. That’s not a lot to ask of a kid.

(Photo: Facebook/CucharaRestaurant)