Are 'noisy' children in restaurants acceptable?

Katy Hill has sparked a parenting debate on Twitter about children dining in restaurants.

The thorny issue was ignited after the former Blue Peter presenter took to Twitter to blast a “negative and mean hearted” couple who disapproved of noisy children being in Pizza Express.

“Dear “Older Couple” in Pizza Express – You dislike children in restaurants? I dislike miserable older people who chose FAMILY restaurants!” she wrote.

When some fans asked whether the couple had been disapproving of her children, Katy posted another tweet to clarify.

“Haha! Nope – it wasn’t my kids. Just general. Some people are just negative & mean hearted. End of. And it makes me sad,” she wrote in a second tweet.

Later, after one of Katy’s followers responded to say that older people wouldn’t complain if parents taught their children to behave in restaurants, she responded to say the little ones were ‘perfect’ and that some people ‘just don’t like kids’.

“DON’T GO TO PIZZA EXPRESS IN HALF TERM! Simples! Hope I never get old and bitter,” she wrote.

And it wasn’t long before Katy’s tweets saw other users step forward to give their own opinions on the matter.

Some agreed with Katy that parents should be allowed to take their children to restaurants without getting judged.

“Going to restaurant is a rare treat for some. Kids should not have to sit miserable and quiet,” wrote one user before adding: “I hate seeing kids stuck on iPads to keep them quiet to avoid upsetting people. There’s no conversation or any enjoyment in going out now.”

“You are spot on. It’s like the adults who go Lane swimming during the kids session and then complain when they get splashed!!” one user wrote.

“Who on earth would go to Pizza Express at half term if you don’t want a restaurant full of kids!?” added another.

But others agreed with the older couple that it can be distracting having children misbehaving in a restaurant.

“I’d rather have older folk sitting near me than unruly brats,” one user commented.

“Pizza Express is family friendly, not a family restaurant. If your kids cannot behave well, you should try Pizza Hut instead,” added another.

That tweet prompted a direct response from Katy.

“And you, like them, clearly ignorantly assuming all kids behave badly! They don’t! Enough with the judgements & pre-conceptions on families!” she wrote.

The whole issue of children eating in restaurants and pubs was also in the spotlight earlier this year when a mum shamed another mother for letting her kids use iPads in the pub.

After being posted on, the incident sparked a fierce parenting debate online about whether or not it was really fair to criticise another parent on how they choose to entertain their kids.

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