"AITA for not acknowledging a family's children?"
I am at a loss here truly. So I am a waitress and bartender and I work at a popular hotel chain. This Saturday I was working in the restaurant all night as well as being the only staff member available to work on the bar so I was pretty busy.
A family of 4 came in, a man, two women and a young boy probably around the age of 5. When they sat down I asked if the boy needed a children’s menu and they said no and that they would pick for him. That was the end of my acknowledgment to their son really.
They yes ordered and I the child was climbing around over the seats and climbing up and down the booths. When I went to give water the table he stuck his hand into the jug. I didn’t say anything to him and just asked if they wanted a new jug, they said no.
I was then rushing food to tables and this kid was playing with toy trucks in the middle of the floor and pushing them to my feet as I was carrying hot heavy plates. I just sort of smiled at him but carried on and went in another direction as to not run into him. When I cleared their plates I noticed their table was FILTHY. Just covered in chewed up food and spilled juice and everything.
Anyway, you can imagine I wasn’t to fond of this family. At the end of my shift my manager informed me that the family complained to him and that I was being cold and distant by not interacting with their son. My manager said he wasn’t upset or anything but just thought I ought to know.
Just to clarify I don’t dislike children at all, I love babies but I’m not good with kids and I don’t want my job to be affected by bad parenting. So basically AITA for not being friendlier and more playful around this child? Thanks.
Here's what people had to say to OP:
Tricky_Valuable5751 said:
NTA. I absolutely loathe children like this. Well, more so the parents. Every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child.
Confident_Set4216 said:
NTA. You work at a restaurant, not a day care center or park. If they want interaction, I suggest they go to one of those instead.
tennesseepapi said:
The family should have been ask to control their child. I ran restaurants for over a decade and would have ask once and told them to leave.
lovewholly said:
NTA. I don’t understand how parents aren’t embarrassed to bits when their kids act this way. Nothing to do with you. Bad parents.
Fancy-Still-4297 said:
Dear god no, definitely NTA. you were doing your job which does not include making TA parents feel good about interacting with their demon spawn. Letting a 5 yr old play with trucks on the floor (not the table) could have been a disaster. good thing no one, including other customers were hurt.
chez2202 said:
NTA. They probably thought you should be interacting with their child so they didn’t have to. It’s a restaurant, not a childcare facility.