Why Do Parents Allow Their Kids To Do This?

[sue11]

Okay this is something minor but I find it irritating. We stayed in a hotel with the usual all you can eat buffet breakfast. I watched kids grab some pastries, take them back and start to eat them. They then left them as they did not like them (fair enough) and got a couple of muffins. They pulled them apart, did not eat them and left them. They then went back to the buffet, got some cereal and toast and started to eat that instead, left half of it, got up again and took a yoghurt back to the table. At least that all got eaten!
This is not the first time I have seen parents let their kids do this, I have stayed in budget and more expensive hotels and the behaviour has been the same.
I know that kids get excited and it is natural that they will want to try everything, but when I was a kid my parents would not let me take anything else unless I had finished what was on my plate first. These parents did not seem to care or notice.
What do others think? Is this now acceptable behaviour, after all is it an all you can eat buffet and they are on holiday or do you think it is wasteful?
My thoughts are that the parents should control what they allow the kids to take and to try to teach them not too waste food in this way.
By the way the kids were around 10 years of age or so.

[woofgang]

Did they children yell, scream run about, throw things? What were their table manners like? TBH, the amount hotels charge, if the children's behaviour was ok, then I probably wouldn't have noticed, let alone worried about it.

[sue11]

Their behaviour was fine, they were not badly behaved at all apart from just being greedy!
I think I took notice as I have seen this a couple of times previously and I am now watching out for it.
As said I do understand that children get excited on holiday and an all you can eat buffet is very tempting for them to experiment, but I think parents still need to set limits when they go over the top.

[pixie373]

I wouldn't have noticed or cared if it had been other people's children. If it had been mine, i would have been watching what they were choosing anyway - and knowing what they liked. If they had wanted to try something different, i would have let them.
What you've described does sound a little wasteful to me, but far worse, imo, to make someone eat something they don't need or want.

[sue11]

Yes fair comments, I think letting them try something different is a good way to expand their experiences with food, but on these occasions the parents were not making any attempt to control any wasteful behaviour and this is what struck me as annoying.
Things seem to have changed from when I was young, but it was a few years back now!

[Canary42]

I agree with you sue, but we're generally regarded as dinosaurs by the me-me-me generation.

[sue11]

Ha ha canary42, yes I think we are!
As said only something minor in the big scheme of things, but it is the little things that gets me wound up the most!

[pixie373]

I don't know if they've changed that much, sue. My youngest is ten now. I only have one friend who i know would allow her children to do that- so i think it's personal rather than times changing.

[dunnitall]

Have to agree with you sue and what message is this giving to the children, that they can do anything they want and it's fine to waste food! Not enough control over children now IMO and it's more the norm now it seems.

[sue11]

Thanks all, by the way I do not have any children myself so do not have any of my own parental experience to draw on!
I know this does not make me the best judge of other parents kids, but our own friends children do not behave this way and I am interested to read others opinion of my thoughts.
Off to bed now, but will be back to comment and thank other responses in the morning, night night!

[dunnitall]

Just to say, I don't think you have to have children to know what is right and wrong behaviour, it's common sense and decency to me which a lot of the time has gone out of the window in this day and age. Night sue.

[Cloverjo]

I wouldn't have let mine do that when he was small, but many parents let their children do what they like as they hate to upset them in even the tiniest way. I find that infuriating.
If they let them do it every day of the holiday, there is no excuse as the kids would know after the first morning what they do and don't like. I'm glad the children on your holiday weren't badly behaved though.

[sherrardk]

Mine will take what I know they will eat and a small portion of anything new that they might want to try. It's the same at home, they are expected to eat what they are given (both the type of food and amount (no one is given something I know they don't like)), they can then have more if they want. These children you speak of seem no worse than the grown ups who see the word 'buffet' and turn in to veritable gannets, who seem to have starved themselves in order to fill their faces.

[chelseakelly]

why not just dont worry about KIDS being KIDS there excited to be on holiday why not let them have a bit of fun unless there taking it off your plate ,,it anoys me when all ppl can do is moan and judge other ppl ..were not all perfect ,,and as you say the werent ,bad kids swearing and things like that , ok that i do agree with parents taking control over my dad would have beaten me if i ever swore ,,but let kids be kids lol

[Old_Geezer]

It's bad parenting. But I suspect it probably arises due to deciding that everyone is on holiday so they won't be strict with the kids but let them get away with more. I think consistency a better decision but they could be acting worse so maybe grit your teeth and lament over other folk and their lower standards ?

[douglas9401]

Ask to be seated looking out of a window.

[joeluke]

Another case of bad parenting, it's an all you can eat buffet not an all you can waste buffet

[Elina]

sue, you're right. I wouldn't allow my child to leave something & go up for something different to do exactly the same with that.

[baza]

I think the clue is in "all you can eat", not all you can grab, imo the parents should watch the kids and make them eat the food taken unless it is revolting.

[dunnitall]

Parents should control their children in every aspect and this is no exception, that's how they learn to fit in to society (or not). Just as children treating a supermarket as a playground, unless they are curbed, told right from wrong they will never learn social graces nor the ability to live with others outside of the home afaic.