How can I get my toddler to exit discreetly when threatening-looking people are around?
I was having lunch with my 3 y.o. daughter today, and some threatening-looking types start having lunch there also (one looked like he was on drugs). This is solely based on their appearance; they never bothered us in any way, and for all I know, they could be lovely people once you get to know them. Nevertheless, I felt a strong desire to leave, without drawing attention to us in any way (i.e. I didn't want to make it seem like I was uncomfortable with them around my daughter).
However, I know that if I would have attempted to leave prematurely, my daughter would likely have protested, which would have drawn attention to us (she was enjoying her meal, and was completely oblivious to any of my perceived threats).
Question: How can I explain to my toddler about these situations? How can I ensure that we can quickly and quietly leave in these situations?
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Argh, this is a tricky one. On the one hand, you want to protect your child. On the other, if they are looking for trouble, you'd provide them with the perfect excuse. Also, your concerns turned out to be unfounded, so all you'd have done is cause more distrust of strangers, which can be dangerous in and of itself (your child not being willing to ask for help when lost, etc.)
Firstly, you now have an example to talk with your child about.
"Did you notice those three men in the restaurant? Well, I was worried they might be angry, so I wanted to leave. Now, if I do feel like that, I need you to come with me quietly so that we don't annoy them, because angry people sometimes do bad things."
Obviously, if the men actually DO anything that worries you, you just get up, take your child and say "We need to leave, come on." Explain once you're out of the place. Bottom line, if they are threatening in any way, then you're going to be uncomfortable anyway. Better to be uncomfortable somewhere else.
However, the real issue was that you were in a place where 3 seedy-looking blokes came in, and their presence dominated the place.
There are places to eat out that specifically cater towards kids. Children's Theatres, Parks, Nurseries all either provide places to eat, or are very near places to eat. The more young families that are around, the less likely that people who will cause trouble will come in, and the more likely it is that the management will ask them to leave if they do anything that might be construed as worrying.
The best way of staying out of trouble is to avoid troublespots. Admittedly, this is far, far easier said than done, but it's probably the best solution.
At risk of sounding contrary, it sounds like there may be an element of looking at your perception to see if it is appropriate.
In general I would always err on the side of "people are good" - this is far more true than not, no matter what they look like. So teaching your child to avoid someone who looks a bit rough can give quite a negative outlook on diversity, acceptance and understanding. It's better to be able to discuss why some people like purple hair, some have tattoos, etc. and when your child is older you may need to have the conversation around why some people swear all the time.
That said, you can minimise issues - you wouldn't take your child to a strip bar, for example - the entertainment and conversation would not be appropriate. You can do the same with restaurants etc - some will be very child friendly, some may be the kind of place you'd expect a fight. Plan ahead.
tl;dr - don't concentrate on unfounded fears based on appearance - minimise risks by planning where to eat etc.
If I was in that situation, and my judgement was that it was time to leave, given all that has been said above about respecting diversity, not judging a book by its cover, etc, I would want to do it in a way that was:
quiet and unobtrusive
didn't scare the kids.
In this situation I would probably make up some plausible but convincing story such as:
"ooh, I though I just saw an icecream truck going by, lets go see, quick get in the car, I think it went that way."
or simply:
"who wants sweets!"
You can explain afterwards if you feel the need.
You need to be careful not to teach your kids profiling. I understand your fear, as that is what we learned as children, however, our kids don't have to learn that. Depending on how old your child is you can talk about strangers in a safe home environment (they talk about this in most schools as well).
I am assuming you were in a safe resturaunt, and not that this is a guerentee for anything, it should make you feel more comfortable.
I think it is a horrible message when you let other people (in this case off putting people) control your life and your enjoyment.
I hear you that these people made you uncomfortable, but they obviously didn't make your daughter uncomfortable so there is no reason to leave, especially as your daughter was happy. You could have sped her along if you really wanted to leave. As well, even if your daughter made a fuss about leaving, this is normal and those people would not have assumed it was because of them unless you told your daughter that that was the reason you were leaving.
If you haven't drilled your child in this situation, then don't be discrete. Seriously, just say, somewhat loudly, "Well, if you won't listen to me then we're just going to have to leave!"
Then carry the kid out of the restaurant, kicking and screaming if needed. You can keep up a running commentary as you go, like, "Well, when I say no, I mean no" or whatever. You've created a reason why you are leaving--as a punishment--and that is sufficient to cover your real motives. If these guys are dangerous, violent, or planning on robbing the place, but haven't actually started the robbing and violence yet, they'll wait until the screaming kid is out of their hair, then rob the place. If they aren't willing to let you leave with a screaming kid (preferably covered in ice cream), you were never getting out of there anyway.
When you've driven a reasonable distance away, pull over and explain what just happened. If this happens a lot, come up with a better plan for the future. When you come up with that plan, make sure you test it several times on false alarms to make sure your child reacts the way you want them to, because the last thing you want them to do is to ask you, loudly "Are those the scary guys we're running from?"
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