A mom's video about being charged $50 for her noisy kids at a restaurant has gone viral, raising a debate about dining etiquette.
If you do not make sure your kids are well-behaved when you take them out to eat, you might end up paying extra. This is what one mom claims happened to her during a recent restaurant outing with her young children. Bri Weimar–who goes by @goodbyetwenties on TikTok–shared a video in which she talked about her surprising experience at the restaurant. "I was just charged a $50 unruly children's fee," Weimar says in her video, adding that she had never heard of this kind of fee before. In an image of the receipt she shows, we see an extra $50 added to her bill, making the total $313.54.
Weimar said that although she tried to speak with a manager, they were unavailable at that moment. Instead, the manager called her back and left a voicemail. In the message, the manager stood firm on the fee, saying that Weimar's kids were playing with their iPads loudly and disrupting the atmosphere for other diners. He also mentioned that the kids were wandering around the restaurant without shoes and eating with their hands.
"We want to make sure that this is an enjoyable experience for all of our guests, so the unruly children fee will not be removed from your bill," the manager allegedly said. He apparently even offered to show Weimar the camera footage of her kids' behavior. And here's the kicker, as the manager added calmly, "We request that you do not return to our restaurant at this time." It's worth noting that Weimar never denied her kids were being disruptive, loud and roaming around the restaurant. Weimer's video went viral, garnering over 513k views. She captioned her video, "I don't even know if this is legal or not, apparently, this so-called policy is listed in their menu and on their website. I will be giving them my two cents online in a review as well."
People in the comments shared their take on the matter. "Honestly, if that's true, I get it and support it. If kids are going to do tablets in a restaurant, they need headphones. Shoes need to stay on feet and need to be with parents at all times. But this is just common sense and common decency," said @heidi28cg. "The comment section did not disappoint. By the way, I'm a mom and totally agree with the manager and fee! You want to go to a nice restaurant- get a babysitter!" added @pam_traumanurse.
It seemed like many moms agreed with this approach. "It would be so nice to see more restaurants take this stand. Parents feel like a restaurant is nothing but another play area for the kids," commented @tootburgess. Another mom @thedoodydude chimed in, "Mom here and I hope more restaurants do this!! I am tired of going out for a nice evening just to feel like I'm at a daycare center. Also, sick of listening to other people's electronics!!!! Yes."
Weimar is known for her satirical videos, including one that went viral with over 25 million views, where she joked about packing her child's ice cream disguised as steak for lunch. Similarly, this video includes a "#satire" hashtag. As it turns out, there's no restaurant named Elysian Table in Seattle, as noted on the receipt, suggesting the whole thing might be a clever joke meant to grab people's attention. However, Weimar seems to have touched a nerve as many seem to think that restaurants should impose something like the "unruly children's fee" mentioned in her video.
@goodbyetwenties I don’t even know if this is legal or not, apparently this so-called policy is listed in their menu and on their website. I will be giving them my two cents online in a review as well. #Satire #BadParenting #restaurantreview #serverproblems ♬ original sound - Bri Weimar | Goodbye Twenties
You can follow Bri Weimar (@goodbyetwenties) on TikTok for more parenting content.