Owner of Portland diner defends yelling at screaming child

[Auggie]

The owner of a Portland diner is defending comments she made on her Facebook page about yelling at a 2-year-old child for crying, screaming and disrupting her customers’ dining experience. The encounter happened Saturday.

Darla Neugebauer, who owns Marcy’s Diner on Oak Street in downtown Portland, was unapologetic for her actions both on Facebook and in an interview with WCSH-TV.

Neugebauer wrote in a Facebook post that she snarled at the girl, who had been crying steadily for more than 40 minutes while her parents talked. She said the parents ordered three full-sized pancakes for their child, which on a busy Saturday takes a while to cook. Neugebauer claims the parents ignored the child, even after the girl was served the pancakes.

When Neugebauer returned to cooking food for other customers, she claims the toddler started crying again. That is when she returned to their table.

MORE: http://www.pressherald.com/2015/07/19/owner-of-portland-diner-under-fire-for-yelling-at-screaming-child/

Speak to the parents, leave the kid out of it.

[Erich Bloodaxe BSN]

1. Just... facepalm.

Doubling down is always worse than the original problem.

Ask the parents to leave (with the toddler) if the disruption is costing you other business. Or install a special 'parents with screaming toddler' booth in a corner, with soundproofing around it.

[TwilightGardener]

2. Facebook News. When local stations get desperate for stories.

[Orrex]

4. In other words, constantly.

Almost as bad as Wolf Blitzer reading straight from CNN's twitter feed.


Good night, and good luck to us all.

[TwilightGardener]

5. I'm hearing about a crying kid in a diner in Portland. From the actual NEWS.

This is NEWS. "Good luck to us all" is right.

[lpbk2713]

11. The kid must have been a tairist.

Just had to be.

[TwilightGardener]

14. Two year olds actually are terrorists.

Armed with powerful lungs, sharp little baby teeth, and no conscience whatsoever.

[Eleanors38]

24. Esp. when a syrup-sogged pancake comes flying your way.

[Thinkingabout]

3. Parents who continue to talk while their kid was crying and screaming are the rude ones.

[LittleBlue]

6. Shitty parents

They should have been asked to leave

[3catwoman3]

10. They should have figured that out...

...for themselves in a lot less than 40 minutes.

[Novara]

7. She did ask them to take the screaming child outside

Seems to me if parents are ignoring a screaming child for 40 minutes, the restaurant owner is within her rights to try and get the kid to shut up if the parents won't. It must have made the dining experience for everyone else there hellish.

Remember when parents used to care when their screaming kid disrupted the peace in public venues?

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

23. My parents would have dragged me out of there, gone home and sent me to bed

And been embarrassed for it.

Nowadays, everyone lives in their own bubble, and fuck everyone else.

[pnwmom]

8. 3 full size pancakes don't take 40 minutes to cook. Avoid that diner! n/t

[TwilightGardener]

12. Yeah, I don't get the pancake thing. Pancakes take no more than 10 minutes, tops.

[cwydro]

15. My question is why they would order that huge a breakfast for that small child.

Two is enough for me, and I'm an adult.

[Deadshot]

9. I support the owner of the diner.

In fact, the owner was well within her rights to throw them out and she should have.

[woodsprite]

13. When a kid starts crying and lasts for more than a couple of minutes, it's time for

the parents to take the child out of the situation - whether it's a restaurant, church service, waiting room, funeral, etc.

We did it as parents. Sometimes it was bad enough that hubby and I had to take turns, but we did it. I'm not and old fuddy-duddy (my youngest just turned 15), but if you can't control or deflect the situation, then remove the child until they've calmed down -- don't just sit there and ignore them. Sure, it's not convenient and may not be what you really want to do, but it's part of parenting. As my daughter would say "Suck it up, buttercup!"

I would have understood the owner's reaction if she acted that way with the parents, but a mean stranger yelling at a 2yo is just going to upset the kid more. On the other hand, the parents sound like they're clueless.

[deutsey]

19. That's what we always did when our kids were that little

I agree with everything you say here.

[aikoaiko]

16. Considerate parents should walk outside with crying child to calm down, but the owner is a lunatic.

This is in Portland, Maine, FWIW.

[Igel]

17. Sounds like a really, really irritating child.

And the 2-year-old should have just been taken outside or entertained. "We brought toys" but apparently decided to let them do the parenting.

Or maybe the toys was for the irritating child, not the 2-year-old.

[Sunlei]

18. Owner was worse then the crying tot, "SHUT THE HELL UP"

[snooper2]

20. owner is pretty funny, I yelled at the kid to shut up- she shut up, everyone was happy

LOL

[Nye Bevan]

21. Yeah, yelling at a screaming child is a *great* way to stop the screaming (nt)

[ProudToBeBlueInRhody]

22. I have no problems with what the owner did, but she should have focused on the idiot parents

I am sick and tired of parents who think everyone else has to just "deal with it" because they've gone deaf from their little booger monster screaming and crying 24/7.