Katie Leach was eating dinner with her 10-month-old son Drew at the Texas Roadhouse in Boise, ID.
All Katie wanted to do was enjoy some family time with her young son Drew, she wasn’t concerned with who was sitting near her.
This day, her focus was on the family and Katie wasn’t there to constantly watch over her shoulder or ensure that strangers had a good time.
And her bubbly 10-month-old son had been doing what toddlers do when they’re happy — laughing, clapping, and occasionally letting out some uncontrollable excitement.
But soon the nice and kindly atmosphere changed to something completely different when two grandmothers from another booth slammed down a pink note on Katie’s table.
She couldn’t believe the ugly message she read on the otherwise pretty piece of paper.
Everything was perfect when Katie took her family out for a meal at Texas Roadhouse.
There was a lot of excitement, servers were singing happy birthday, and some would even say hi to her baby Drew. The little guy was happy.
But while dining, Drew began to scream.
“He had been screaming off and on just with everybody as they were singing happy birthday. And when one of the waitresses would come up, he’d scream to tell them hi,” Katie recalled.
“We all tried quieting him down which a majority of the time he did, but he also was so excited to be around all the commotion. He was not yelling to be mean or because he was mad, it was purely from excitement and being happy.”
The noise was rather occasional during the time the Leach family dined together and it’s a typical part of the atmosphere at the family-friendly eatery.
However, two older women had a lesson for this “disrespectful” mother whose son “ruined” their meal.
The two women, “their late 50’s or early 60’s”, slammed a disapproving note down on the table between Katie and her young son, commenting on Drew’s behavior.
“Thank you for ruining our dinner with your screaming kid. Sincerely, the table behind you,” the bright pink note read.
After that, the two women returned to their table which was located directly behind the Leach family.
Katie was dismayed by the rashness of these intolerant older women, who lacked compassion and class when putting their opinion on paper.
Sure, Katie could admit that her son’s “new thing” was being intense, but she added that it wasn’t like Drew was yelling the entire time.
She tried to explain that her son was just excited, that his emotions got away from him and that he let out an occasional hyper screech.
”I’m doing my best to teach him indoor voice and to not yell back at me when telling him no etc, but he is only 10 (almost 11 months) and LEARNING,” Katie explained.
Katie was left feeling at a loss for words. Trying to make amends as well as defend herself and her son, Katie went to their table.
She tried to explain to them that her son was still learning, but the women told her their grandchildren “never behave like that.”
“He’s so young. He barely understands now. I mean he’s starting to learn that when we tell him no that means to tone it down, which he was doing”, Katie said.
The snooty women responded by comparing their grandkids with Katie’s toddler, saying that they would never behave like Drew did.
But if their grandchildren actually are well-behaved, they didn’t learn it from dear old disgruntled grandma…
Who actually feels it’s their place to comment on other people’s business and tell strangers how they are parenting the wrong way?
Katie says she would have been more understanding if her son weren’t still a baby.
However, Katie told the manager what happened and she was just as surprised as her.
She told the two women they could finish their dinner but should kindly leave afterward. The manager also paid for Leach’s meal and said Drew was welcome any time.
Above that, the Texas Roadhouse came to the mother’s defense and issued a statement.
”We’re in the hospitality business. We want all our guests to have a great experience,” said Texas Roadhouse spokesman Travis Doster.
”We were voted one of the loudest restaurants by Consumer Reports. We are proud to be loud. If you want to hear clinking wine glasses and clinking forks, then this probably isn’t the place for you.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJtIz01KzAA
I’m glad that the manager and Texas Roadhouse stood up for this mom! The chain know that families want to eat out too, and I think that they have provided the perfect environment for that.
I’ve got grandkids and yes they’ve been that way in restaurants!
These snobbish women should know that a 10 month old is learning and to say their 10 month old grand kids never acted up is so unreal.
Obviously, they haven’t spent enough time with their own kids to think this behavior from a child is unexpected. We are talking about a 10 month old, right? A baby, who’s happy & excited with all the stimulation around?
Maybe they could take a page out of Katie’s book and benefit from some cheerful family time like she was trying to do!
Please SHARE if you think the Texas Roadhouse manager handled the situation gracefully!
