Parents of 'well-behaved kids' get discount at local restaurant
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SEATTLE (AP) - To Laura King, her three children were acting normal while enjoying dinner at an Italian restaurant in their hometown in Washington state.
But staffers of the restaurant Sogno di Vino in Kingston were so impressed with her children's table manners during their Feb. 1 dinner that they thanked her kids and gave the family of five a bowl of ice cream.
It wasn't until King got home that that she noticed a $4 "well behaved kids" discount on her receipt to cover the dessert. A friend posted a picture of the receipt on the website Reddit, and the story took off.
"The server said staff didn't even know there were kids at the table," said King, whose children are 2, 3, and 8 years old.
King said it's been entertaining to see all the attention her story has gotten, and she plans to dine at Sogno di Vino again soon.
Sogno di Vino owner Rob Scott said servers have the discretion to offer a discount to customers, adding that this wasn't the first time well-behaved kids have been rewarded. What was different this time was that one of the staffers wrote it out in the receipt.
"It was just an act of kindness," Scott said.
Scott said the restaurant was packed the night Laura's family came in, which can be challenging to families with small children. But he said he was impressed with the way the family was interacting with each other and that even the 2-year-old on a high chair seemed to be having a good time.
Rowdy children are an issue all restaurant customers have encountered at one point or another, Scott said.
"You can tell when a (family) had a rough ride to the restaurant," Scott said. "There tends to be sometimes activities where children get out of the chair or stand on chairs or get loud, as they get loud, it upsets other patrons, and they paid for a baby sitter."
Scott said he's been asked if he would charge more to customers who have unruly children. That's not something he does, he said.
"Everybody in my generation was raised to behave in restaurants," he said. "That parenting skills have been forgotten in some cases."
King said she has worked in the restaurant industry before and knows that families aren't the easiest customers to serve. She said that at the restaurant, her kids apply the table etiquette used at her dining table.
But staffers of the restaurant Sogno di Vino in Kingston were so impressed with her children's table manners during their Feb. 1 dinner that they thanked her kids and gave the family of five a bowl of ice cream.
It wasn't until King got home that that she noticed a $4 "well behaved kids" discount on her receipt to cover the dessert. A friend posted a picture of the receipt on the website Reddit, and the story took off.
"The server said staff didn't even know there were kids at the table," said King, whose children are 2, 3, and 8 years old.
King said it's been entertaining to see all the attention her story has gotten, and she plans to dine at Sogno di Vino again soon.
Sogno di Vino owner Rob Scott said servers have the discretion to offer a discount to customers, adding that this wasn't the first time well-behaved kids have been rewarded. What was different this time was that one of the staffers wrote it out in the receipt.
"It was just an act of kindness," Scott said.
Scott said the restaurant was packed the night Laura's family came in, which can be challenging to families with small children. But he said he was impressed with the way the family was interacting with each other and that even the 2-year-old on a high chair seemed to be having a good time.
Rowdy children are an issue all restaurant customers have encountered at one point or another, Scott said.
"You can tell when a (family) had a rough ride to the restaurant," Scott said. "There tends to be sometimes activities where children get out of the chair or stand on chairs or get loud, as they get loud, it upsets other patrons, and they paid for a baby sitter."
Scott said he's been asked if he would charge more to customers who have unruly children. That's not something he does, he said.
"Everybody in my generation was raised to behave in restaurants," he said. "That parenting skills have been forgotten in some cases."
King said she has worked in the restaurant industry before and knows that families aren't the easiest customers to serve. She said that at the restaurant, her kids apply the table etiquette used at her dining table.
I like it. Â We'll head up there one of these days and give them a try just because of this. Â Maybe it was a good business decision for them; in the news for something positive. Â Great job to the kids and parents. Â Now for a similar story. Â I was in a McDonalds (I know, yuck!) and there were two groups with kids. Â Both appeared to be single moms with two kids each. Â One mom was attentive and had very well kept and behaved children. Â The other, not so much. Â She was some fat cow, stuffing french fries down her face and NEVER got off the cell phone. Â Both "Brats" appeared to be imitating WWF or UFC in the middle of the restaurant. Â They were getting looks from everyone in the place, but mom didn't care. Â I don't even think she noticed. Â I'm pretty tolerant of children, but even I was fed up by the time I left. Â After disposing of my trash, I went back to the table, reached into my wallet, pulled out some cash, requested permission from the mother to reward the children, gave each child said money, pointed to the other children and very boisterously announced "This is for not acting like them". Â One mom smiled and thanked me, the other didn't seem so happy. Â I think she was trying to tell me that I was number 1. Â As I looked around on my way out, I saw quite a few smiles from other patrons. Â You can probably guess which group got the money and which mom gave me the 1 finger salute.
Back when my wife and I were dating in college we had lunch in a Red Robin type of restaurant (Bob's Big Boy) and watched while two women and a toddler had lunch. The little boy was very well behaved and polite while these women had a long, leisurely lunch. We decided right there that this was the type of behaviour that we would teach our children. We taught our children good table manners AT HOME and never had a problem when we ate out with them. The good manners that we expected at home made it very easy to take our kids out with us. If you don't teach good table manners at home how can you expect your child to be well behaved when eating out?
My personal favorite are the kids that really are not bad, but the parents feel a need to be loud and in charge and scold their children loudly for all to hear. Class act....
Sogno di Vino is located in downtown Poulsbo, not Kingston.Â
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How long til the parents of kids with "disorders" sue the restaurant for discriminating agains their little hellion? Â America, the land of overmedicated, ill-behaved, kids with imaginary disorders that seem to preclude them from behaving. Â
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My wife and I were married 9 years before we had kids.
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One thing we did agree upon that in public our children would be respectful and well mannered.
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There are places where its totally acceptable to let them run wild( Chucky Cheese, Mcdonalds playland, etc).
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There are always exceptions, however as part of normal behavior a parent should not feel its ok to subject others to their childrenâs disruptive behavior.
 @AKjohn Agreed.  My husband and I were both raised that way, and our kids were raised that way. I think that we are of the last generation of parents that expect their kids to behave.  Seems that now the kids are elevated to boss status in the home, with $500.00 ipads by the time they're in elementary school, full entertainment centers in their rooms, and absolutely no rules about behaving.  You know, they don't want to squash their precious Hayden, Cayden, or Emma's personality but expecting them to behave in public.  lol
restaraunts should charge $10 Brat fee for unruly kids. Been to too many restaurants where the kids were running around tables and other customers and the parents kept eating their food.
I would call this an innovative business practice.
How about a discount for people who DON'T take their kids out to restaurants?
 @PamHelberg There's always got to be SOMEBODY to stand up and say "unfair - I didn't get any!"
Discount (Travel Voucher) for well-behaved kids on airplanes, please. =)
@sabbametta Amen! It needs 10 thumbs up.
I remember my husband and I going to a restaurant (Bob Evans) and a family with about 5 young kids came in. I thought there goes our nice quiet dinner. Boy, was I wrong!! Those kids, even the baby in the highchair, were just as quiet and well behaved as you can imagine. I complimented the parents and kids on our way out. They were really pleased with that. Shows good parenting.
These kids don't behave themselves because the parents are "lucky," they behave because they have consistent consequences when they misbehave. Â Kudos to the parents AND the restaurant!
nice watch every parent go there, and wait till they dont get discount. new story manager beat by angry father
Please get the location right, the restaurant is in POULSBO not KINGSTON.
So do they charge a fee for bratty kids?
 @Anarchy The story said they don't
It is a pleasure to go out and see polite and well behaved children. Something that is really rare these days.
Well, they'd hate my SPD and gifted kids! That's why we don't eat out though.Â
 @solasolace SPD  (Seattle Police Department?)  And WHY would "gifted" kids not be expected to behave???  I was a gifted child, with a wildly creative mind and tons of energy.  But my manners were impeccable.  Going out to dinner was a treat, and if you ever wanted to do it again, you behaved. No excuses.Â
 @DT  @solasolace Sensory Processing Disorder. Gifted kids often act out when they are young because of their very intense limbic systems. Like I said, this is why we don't eat out. It's far too overwhelming, for especially my DD. This is something I never would have considered before I had kids. As a kid I ate out often and never once caused a single issue, so I wondered what was wrong with kids or parents of kids that had a hard time.
Sometimes it's the other way around and the parents acting out. I've seen some that think they own the place and are rude and demanding of staff.
It is an absolute joy to encounter polite, well-behaved children, too bad there are so few nicely brought up kids.
What a great story, I bet it didn't hurt the restauant either! Good job Mom and Dad.
And as it should be hats off to this mom and and dad who are raising their kids right. I hate it when I go out parents just let little johny or little marry run aound like wild animals.
I hate to burst everyone's bubble -- but it's not a discount for good behavior and the headline is totally misleading. You fail, KOMO. It's a free bowl of ice cream for good behavior. The charge for the ice cream is $4 above her thumb and and the credit makes the ice cream free. What is special is the staffer wrote why they gave the family a free bowl of ice cream.
 @dontneedheels picky picky
Why do I picture a mother going into this restaurant and not getting a discount and she just raises hell. I so just see some kid running around, getting into everything, and the mother yelling (s)he said thank you, he showed that he is polite, how dare you say my kids are not behaved. You have no idea what well behave kids are........I hope that does not happen, but all moms think they know best and they have great kids.Â
 @Just my say I hear you. I waited tables for five years and I have come across some of the worst mothers you could possibly meet. One changed her baby's poopy diaper ON the table, smashed the diaper between her table and the one next to hers, and then ate her meal without washing her hands. All the while her four children were screaming their heads off and hitting each other with spoons. When we asked her to remove the diaper she became offended, and then acted as if we should get down on our hands and knees and thank god for the privilege of touching her kids' used diaper. I seriously hope she gets cholera one day.
 @SouthofSeattle  @Just my say If I had been a customer and had seen it I would have been the one to complain loudly to HER not you. I really wish more people would speak up when they see behavior like this.Â
I love how everyone commenting wants to judge parents poorly for their kids behavior. Just a bit of food for thought for all of you. How you you know that the child can help their behavior any more than the parent can? Children with autism often act out when in places like this. Learn a little about autism and other disabilities before you start judging. These family's have just as much right to go eat out as anyone else. Its hard for me to take my son out like that because he cannot sit still for long and gets easily aggravated. While we don't have issues every time we go out it does happen and I shouldn't have to keep my chile home all the time to avoid causing someone else to be uncomfortable. Just have a bit of sympathy next time you see a child acting up. It may be more than simple bad parenting. How would you like someone to judge you for one bad day? The world needs more understanding and less judgment. Just remember what the bible says about judging others..... Wwjd?
 @Nichole Baker Then keep kids who cannot function in a public place like that, out of it. Eating in a restaurant is voluntary.  It is a place to enjoy your meal and conversation.  It's not a place for kids acting out, I don't care what their excuse is.  Sorry.. but that's reality. Â
As a special education teacher of 7-11 years olds, I would like to comment. I have the honor and privilege of working with students who are on the Autism spectrum as well as students with other disabilities. My students are expected to have good manners, be kind, be thoughtful and show the utmost respect for each other and their surroundings. At a recent meeting, a parent stated that they "couldn't take their child to the store or a restaurant." They said he rolls around the floor and crawls under tables. I was completely aghast at this since this young man (10 years old) is a complete gentleman at school. He is polite and well mannered. The parents hardly believed me and stated that he "needs" to roll around because of his disability. Well, he doesn't "need" to do that at school, so I think he can be civilized in public. Every child deserves the respect of being held accountable for high expectations!
 @cteach EXACTLY. I have known parents with kids that have similar disorders, and their kids were brats when they chose to be, and behaved for non parents.  The parents think it's a free pass to disturb others, when their kids KNOW how to behave.Â
 @cteach Thank you. For your work, and for your sensible comments.
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@Nichole Baker First off not everything is to be equal in this world. second as much as i adore kids and know they are kids. I as a parent have on more then one occasion removed from a store or restaurant my kids for not behaving correctly just left the shopping cart in the isle or left the restaurant even before the meal was served. Why? because it is not fair to the people around me to suffer with a brat out of control. yes I paid my check for the meal with out eating it left a 19% tip and have taken my kid out and home. I expect the same from other parents can't teach your child to behave stay home till they can. if it is to much for them for them then go to McDonald's and enjoy the kid zoo.
 @Exiled_Patriot  @Nichole Awesome! You're exactly right, of course. My mom used to do the same with my brother and myself when we were kids and acting out in a store or restaurant. We learned pretty quickly that every place you go has rules of behavior, and the rules for an outdoor playground are NOT the same for inside a store. If we didn't show good behavior, we didn't deserve the privilege of going to special places where we might disturb others. She also taught us not to go around screaming while we are playing unless there was danger (that doesn't include an occasional shriek or shout). We both ended up being the type of people who hold doors for others, help people pick things up they have dropped, and say please, thank-you, sir, and ma'am. I am SO grateful to my mother for doing her best to raise us to be reasonably well-behaved (not to say she was perfect, but she tried to make us into good people).
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It wasn't known at that time but my brother has ADD and I have ADHD. I'm amazed when I see some kids these days whose parents claim they have those disorders and then shrug when they behave improperly. Just because someone has a disorder that affects their learning, behavior, perceptions, etc., doesn't mean you don't teach that person proper manners and encourage them to do better. Having to leave a restaurant is a perfect teaching moment because you can explain clear reasons why you are leaving, why the behavior is wrong, that you won't be eating out for awhile, and that you expect that the next time their behavior will be better.
 @Nichole Baker There is a big difference between a parent who is obviously attending to a child who is Having Some Issues, and parents who are appear perfectly happy to let their children run wild while they ignore it and continue their dinner. Most people can easily tell the difference, look with sympathy to one, and scorn to the other. I would say that at this point, only the very slight majority are the former, and the latter, at least in my neighborhood, seem to be intent on adopting certain local restaurants as their own indoor playgrounds. Those are the people that are being whined about here. Watching a parent attend to their child really doesn't bother anyone, I don't think; it is when they are NOT being attended that people get really (and rightfully) aggravated.
@Nichole Baker While I sympathize with the difficulties associated with having a special needs child, you, the adult, the parent, need to understand that perhaps your child isnt well suited to be in some situations or venues. Is it "fair" to your child.. Perhaps not... but its equally unfair to the rest of the public who are trying to have an equally enjoyable time. I remember an old adage my father used to use: "Your rights end when my nose (or ears or eyes etc) begin" There are restaurants Like Chuck E Cheese, or Dennys or Sharies, where your child can go, socialize, and not be a distraction to others.
 @EMDF9A  @Nichole Loud places such as those you suggest, EMDF9A, are even more unsuited to our special needs children.  Our children, like everyone elses, learn by experience - it just takes them a little longer. Telling us to take our kids to 'lower end' eating establishments is like saying a breastfeeding mother should feed her child in the restroom because you don't want to see it at a table.  I for one, refuse to hide my children away anymore, and I won't take them somewhere where the atmosphere is going to cause massive sensory overstimulation. A nice quiet restaurant is perfect. My kids are square pegs. I refuse to make them fit round holes - the world needs to learn some patience with square pegs, and make less assumptions and judgements.
 @Marina Gray  @EMDF9A  @Nichole Look, they're your kids not mine. Feel free to have as much noise as possible in your own home - I don't care in the least. However, when a child starts screaming or acting up in a restaurant the onus is on the parent to remove themselves and their children from that place.Â
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As a kid I didn't even get to go out to restaurants until I was at an age where I wouldn't act out. We all know babies can cry sometimes - and as such the choice (and it is a choice) to take a baby to a restaurant is probably a bad one.
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@Marina Gray @EMDF9A @Nichole I have no problem with you taking your children to a "nice quiet restaurant", as long as you immediately remove your child from the restaurant (until the child becomes calm again) so you don't ruin the nice, quiet experience for everyone else.Otherwise you're ruining the very thing that attracted you to the restaurant in the first place, and it has nothing to do with patience for square pegs. It has to do with being considerate to the people around you, no matter what your set of circumstances are. You don't get a free pass to be rude.Â
@Nichole Baker You are right, we are only seeing a snapshot moment and not the whole picture.
While I think it is an absolutely pathetic reflection on the state of parenting today that this is considered something worthy of special treatment, this is still really cool of the restaurant. Good job to the parents! Maybe they can come to Columbia City Bakery on Sunday morning/afternoon and offer parenting lessons to the morons who flock there with the untrained animals they're trying to pass off as kids.
 @Jolly Oh, but we can't squelch little Camryn, or Kadyn, or Ella's soul  by expecting them to behave???  That would be cruel!  lol
Great article, great restaurant, great customers. Â Only problem is that Sogno di Vino is not in Kingston, it's in Poulsbo...
Great story. Â When my kids were little we never hesitated to eat out but we had a rule that any rude or misbehaving would require one parent with the offending kid sitting in the waiting out dinner. Â I spent many evenings out in our van and this was before smart phones and mobile internet. Â Eventually the kids learned and we could spend and entire dinner without any incidents. Â Later on when the kids were a little older we used to receive compliments from both diners and waiters about how well behaved they were. Â To this day my kids manners and public behavior are great. Â The time spent in the van paid a lot of dividends.
@ifETA I understand were your coming from and have done the same.