The mum was left horrified after the little girl asked to try her dinner and then trampled over her belongings as her parents watched on from their nearby table

Children find it difficult to sit still, so it's no surprise they often need extra entertainment when they dine out with family.

But one mum has slammed two fellow parents for letting their little girl run amuck in Nando's - then not apologising for her behaviour.

The rampaging toddler kept walking around the bench shared by other customers, tramping on their clothing, and scraping cutlery along the wall, according to the stunned mum.

To make matters worse, she couldn't enjoy her food when it arrived either, as the toddler eyed up her meal and asked if she could eat it.

The parent - who was quick to forgive the tot but thinks her parents should have known better - has since slammed the family's behaviour in a post to Mumsnet.

Explaining her anger, the mum who was dining with her husband and their baby wrote: "The table next to us was a couple and a young child aged between 2 and 3. They had plenty of seating and a high chair available for the girl to use.

"They chose to all sit on the bench side of the table presumably to sit together. I was also sat on the bench side of our table with an empty seat next to me. I put my bag there. Hubby was sat opposite and our baby was in the pushchair."

Unfortunately, what should have been a nice evening, soon turned sour on account of the misbehaving child.

"The little girl from the table next to us was constantly walking along the bench, coming to our table, scraping a fork along the back wall and asking her parents for our food. My husband asked her parents and then offered her a snack from our sons snack box at one point to try and appease her. She didn't want that, she wanted our food. It made our meal really awkward," the mum explained.

"I didn't say anything rude but tried to politely diffuse the situation by engaging with her, making conversation back and also telling her that her dinner was at her table and her chips were waiting for her." Despite her efforts, she saw little success.

A few minutes later the child returned, and this time she stood on the woman's handbag placed in the empty seat next to her. "As I turned and saw this, the dad had the cheek to tell me that 'I may want to move my bag' as she is standing on it!" the mum recalled.

"Of course I did move it but to somehow phrase it as though I should move my belongings from a seat that belongs to our table when in fact his child was trampling on my handbag felt cheeky!" she wrote.

The mum concluded her post by reiterating she's 'not one of those parents who judges others or expects children to behave perfectly' but that this situation annoyed her. "I couldn't imagine allowing my child to interrupt another family the way we were continually interrupted today," she explained.

"If the parents were trying and the girl was just being inquisitive, I genuinely wouldn't have minded. It's the lack of trying and no acknowledgment for the fact that we were being inconvenienced that is irritating."

In response, commenters were quick to praise the mum for her level-headed response and slam the other child's parents.

"I can't believe he suggested you move your stuff from your seat rather than stopping her from trampling on it. And just letting her try and make a bid for your dinner!

"All kids can be annoying but that's why they come with parents, to stop them from doing it," read one reply.

A second commented: "It sounds like you were really nice to the child. Good for you. Kids are annoying but they're just kids. The parents should have done something but maybe they were relieved that you were being so lovely about it? I always try to be nice to parents with annoying kids as we have all been there when kids go through the annoying phase."

The mum replied: "I do get that it's an element of kids being kids but I think it was annoying me that the parents didn't acknowledge it. I also think the standing on my handbag was where the line was crossed. It just feels so disrespectful and whilst there was no intent from the child's side, I just can't imagine watching my child doing that to another persons things and then telling them to move it in a joking tone. I would apologise."

Source:
courtesy of MIRROR

by AMBER O'CONNOR, LIFESTYLE WRITER

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