Dad Writes Open Letter To Strangers Who Judged Him For Dragging Screaming Toddler Out Of A Restaurant

A dad has written an open letter to the strangers who judged him for ‘dragging’ his two-year-old out of a restaurant when she had a tantrum.

Clint Edwards, author of the blog ‘No Idea What I’m Doing’, said he understood it can be irritating when kids are loud in public.

“But before you get angry and judgmental, realise that what you are witnessing is not bad parenting, but rather, parents working hard to fix the situation,” he wrote on Facebook on Saturday 4 March.

“You are looking at what it takes to turn a child into a person.”

Edwards had been enjoying a meal out with his family when his two-year-old daughter “had a meltdown because mum wouldn’t let her throw chicken strips”.

“So she screamed, and screamed, and kicked and kicked, and since I was the only one finished with my meal, I had the pleasure of dragging her out of Red Robin,” he explained.

“I carried her past the bar and everyone stared at me, most of them childless, I assumed. No one with children would give me that straight faced, lip twisted, look that seems to say, ‘if you can’t control your kid, then don’t go out.’”

Edwards candidly stated: “Well... no. I can’t control her. Not all the time. Not yet.

“She’s two and it’s going to take years to teach her how to act appropriately in public, and the only way I am ever going to teach that is to take her out and show her what’s right and wrong.

“These lessons take patience, hard work, and real world experiences, and I’m sorry to those at the bar who got irritated by my child’s fit, but you are part of this practice.”

Other parents responded to Edwards’ post by sharing their own experiences of dealing with toddler tantrums in public.

“Once in a moment of desperation after certain child had pitched a fit every single time we went anywhere for like six months, I joined my daughter for a toss on the floor screaming fit in Walmart,” wrote one mum.

“Stopped her fit cold turkey. She just stared at me. Eventually I looked at her and said ‘what?’ In that super annoying way that says ‘I know exactly what, but I am going to make you say it anyway!’

“She told me ‘that’s embarrassing mummy’ I responded ‘no way, for real?’ Got up and finished shopping.. she never once ever did it again.”

Before You Go

Eating Out With A Toddler

Never wake the sleeping giant(01 of05)

We’ve all done it – they fall asleep in the car three minutes before you get there and because you're not keen to to sit in a car park in silence for an hour, you tell yourself they’ve woken up (really they just coughed mid-nap), drag them out of the car, bleary-eyed, and plonk them in the middle of a busy café.

This is child cruelty – as is arriving an hour past their usual lunchtime. We combined both of these acts of cruelty. Never. Again. (credit:Stefan Kunz via Getty Images)

Clear the decks(02 of05)

Possession is nine tenths of the law in Toddlersville so allow your children to grab that steak knife for a mere nanosecond and as far as they're concerned it’s now theirs.

Wrestling it away can be as dangerous as wrestling a crocodile – all those serrated teeth. Instead CLEAR THE TABLE OF EVERYTHING before you sit down. (credit:abitofSAS photography www.abitofsas.com via Getty Images)

Bring the entire contents of your house(03 of05)

When I was heavily pregnant we went out for dinner with my mother-in-law, Sue. At the next table a toddler was watching videos on his Dad’s iPhone.

“That’s awful, isn’t it? Kids today can’t even sit through a meal without staring at a screen,” said Sue.

“I know!” I said. And I meant it. Then my son was born.

To hell with that – bring every electrical appliance from your house, including your 40in plasma, if you have one. Better still, find a pub with a massive telly on.

Distraction, distraction, distraction! (credit:Oscar Bjarnason via Getty Images)

Remember all parents go through this(04 of05)

One of the hardest things about dealing with the epic tantrum was doing it in front of the chilled-out family next to us, whose little girl just sat there smiling, silently eating her food properly with a fork.

As I carried my flailing child past them, I stopped and said, “Would you like to swap children by any chance?” For a terrible moment they just stared at us.

Then they laughed and the dad said: “Ha, believe me – we've got off very lightly today. You should have seen this one last week.”

Take heed: You’re not alone. (credit:Dimitri Otis via Getty Images)

Seek anonymity(05 of05)

Many parents believe non-parents should just suck it up when there’s a noisy toddler in the restaurant. But as someone who finds controlling a toddler about as easy as juggling jelly, I’d prefer to avoid the added stress of eyes burning the back of my neck.

My advice: Think of the last place on earth you would want to eat if you didn’t have kids (the kind where the menus have puzzles on the back and you get a balloon when you arrive), and eat there.

Better still – eat at home. (credit:PhotoAlto/Anne-Sophie Bost via Getty Images)