{"id":8828,"date":"2015-08-07T08:24:34","date_gmt":"2015-08-07T12:24:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/?p=8828"},"modified":"2016-01-18T15:32:17","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T20:32:17","slug":"give-me-a-minute-before-you-judge-my-children","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/2015\/08\/07\/give-me-a-minute-before-you-judge-my-children\/","title":{"rendered":"Give Me a Minute Before You Judge My Children"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was exhausting. By 8:30, I reported to hubby that it was going to be the longest.day.ever. \u00a0By 9:30, my children had destroyed the baby’s room (where all of their toys currently reside). \u00a0By 10:30, I was exhausted from sorting tiny little game pieces Doodle was strewing across the living room. \u00a0By 11:30, we had to go. \u00a0OUT!<\/p>\n

So we went. \u00a0Out for lunch.<\/p>\n

My kids are no strangers to restaurants, they’ve all been eating out since they were born. \u00a0And it’s not unusual for me to stop for lunch when out running around with the kids, even when I’m by myself. \u00a0Usually we stop at a fast service restaurant (our favorites are\u00a0Panera and Chipotle) but it’s not unheard of that I’ll take them to a sit down place.<\/p>\n

And that’s exactly where we ended up yesterday, a local deli-restaurant that I really like. \u00a0I walked up to the hostess stand with my big belly and three little ones. \u00a0The girls stood patiently in front of me and Doodle clung to my leg. \u00a0Both couples in front of us commented on how adorable the kids are and a woman leaving said “no wonder you’re having another, they’re beautiful!”<\/p>\n

But the demeanor changed as we were walked to our table. \u00a0People started staring, unimpressed faces, talking in hushed tones. \u00a0As we approached our table next to the wait staff station, a waitress there actually said “are you kidding me?” as we walked up.<\/p>\n

I know what it all means, I’ve experienced it before, in restaurants, on airplanes, in stores. \u00a0People think: a mom with three small kids, on her own (though even when out with hubby we get the same reaction), there goes my quiet lunch!<\/p>\n

But before you judge me and my decision to\u00a0actually bring my children out in public<\/em>, give me a minute. \u00a0Let me set the kids down. \u00a0Wait until you see how nicely they read their menus, choose their meals and even order for themselves. \u00a0Watch as they color quietly while we wait for our food to be prepared, even the two-year-old. \u00a0Listen as the only noise you hear is polite conversation and maybe a little laughing as we, too, enjoy a nice lunch.<\/p>\n

\"wpid-20150806_121517.jpg\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Because my children are not the loud, obnoxious ones you might expect. \u00a0Because my children have been\u00a0taught<\/em> how to act in restaurants. \u00a0Because if my children couldn’t behave, they wouldn’t be there.<\/p>\n

Trust that I, their mother, trust and expect them to behave. \u00a0Know that if they don’t, it will be handled because much like you, I don’t particularly like screaming, rowdy, unruly children either. \u00a0Especially when they’re mine!<\/p>\n

So before you judge me and make assumptions about my family, give me the opportunity to prove your pre-conceived notions wrong. \u00a0Let me show you that young children\u00a0can<\/em> behave. \u00a0Let me change your mind about my kids and maybe any other\u00a0families you may encounter in the future. \u00a0Let me do my job as their mother.<\/p>\n

And Let\u00a0them<\/em> show you how children can behave. \u00a0Let\u00a0them<\/em>\u00a0prove to you that young children can and do have a place in our world. \u00a0Before you judge\u00a0them<\/em>, give them a minute to surprise you!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Yesterday was exhausting. By 8:30, I reported to hubby that it was going to be the longest.day.ever. \u00a0By 9:30, my children had destroyed the baby’s room (where all of their toys currently reside). \u00a0By 10:30, I was exhausted from sorting tiny little game pieces Doodle was strewing across the living room. \u00a0By 11:30, we had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8832,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-a-mommys-life","category-family-life"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8828"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8828\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8833,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8828\/revisions\/8833"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8832"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beyondmommying.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}