AITA for making my baby laugh at a restaurant

A father’s simple act of making his baby laugh at a restaurant quickly turned into an unexpected confrontation. The joy of a happy child met with the ire of strangers, leading to a heated exchange. Was this dad just being a dad, or did he cross a line in a public place?
AITA for making my baby laugh at a restaurant

It was my wife’s birthday yesterday. She picked out a mid-tier restaurant to go to for her birthday. This was no Chili’s level, but not high-end either. We went at 5:30 on a Wednesday, so not that busy.

We have a 10-month-old who’s just about the happiest kid ever. Nearly anything I do makes him laugh. Well, at dinner, I was making him laugh. He’d throw in some happy yelling. Maybe got a touch loud, but he was in a great mood.

Well, the table next to us had an issue with what I was doing and asked me to stop. They told us to keep it down. I’m like, “He’s laughing, that’s all. Him laughing is an issue?” They just repeated that he is too loud; if he is going to be like this, they suggested we stay home.

I tell them to leave us alone and continue making my son laugh. I overheard them reference me as an asshole. They requested to move tables and did. But was I the asshole for making my baby laugh?

Edit: This was a 3-5 minute interaction with my son while waiting for the check. It was 90% giggling. The other hour-plus we were there, it was just him being quiet or eating or going bahbahbah over and over. There was no extended shrieking at all that occurred.

This is a good example of what he did.

Here’s how people reacted:

_mmiggs_

I’m assuming that “laugh” here is loud, happy, baby shrieking, and by the sounds of it, it was ongoing happy shrieking, and not an isolated laugh. That’s too loud for a restaurant.

You’re dining in a restaurant. You need to moderate your voices – the people at the next table don’t want to hear your conversation, and they don’t want to be continually disturbed by the happy shrieks of your baby either.

You’re not the asshole for making your baby happy. You’re the asshole for making too much noise in a restaurant.

YTA

2workigo

YTA. Because when you were informed you were bothering other people (who were also paying to enjoy a nice dinner) your response was essentially “fuck them.” There’s something to be said for basic manners.
Deep-Manner-4111

YTA. Let me preface this by saying that there is nothing wrong with your child’s joy and you sound like a fantastic parent.

BUT in your post you mentioned both laughing and happy yelling. Those are not the same thing. A quiet giggle? Sure, no problem. But yelling? No. Just because it’s happy, doesn’t take away the fact that it’s yelling. Imagine if you were just trying to enjoy a quiet dinner with your family and group of rowdy drunken people kept yelling and laughing at the table next to yours. Happy doesn’t mean it’s not still annoying.

7hr0wn

YTA. You deliberately provoked your kiddo into making loud noises in a place where people go to relax and enjoy conversation. There’s nothing wrong with your kid laughing, but there’s a time and a place for it. If you’d been doing this in a public park, that would be fine, but you were in a mid-tier restaurant, and you continued after people told you it was a problem. If you’d toned it down a notch after they asked, you would have been fine.
BogBabe

YTA.

​

>Well at dinner I was making him laugh. He’d throw in some happy yelling. Maybe got a touch loud
>
>I’m like he’s laughing thats all.

But laughing wasn’t “all.” He was *yelling*. Loudly. Loudly enough to be annoying to other diners. And you kept on with it, instead of trying to quiet him down and keep him quietly happy.

There’s a time and a place for loud happy yelling. A restaurant isn’t it.

busyshrew

YTA.

You love your kid and think he’s adorable but other people were there to enjoy a meal. You were deliberately attention seeking and probably wanted everyone to notice your wonderful baby, and were willing to give a “fuck you” to other paying patrons when asked to tone it down.

How tiresome.

Hope you left a really big tip for the extra inconvenience you placed on the staff too – having to move customers to a new table and deal with the complaints.

derpy-chicken

YTA. Yelling due to happiness or otherwise is not appropriate for ANY restaurant. And you were doing it on purpose, even after someone asked you to knock it off.
broken-runner-26

YTA. Wanna be loud, go to a playground or maccies
ObsecureAccount

NTA. And I know I’m going to be down voted. I’ve heard adults be louder than happy baby shrieking/ laughing. Way more obnoxious. Way more annoying to a dining experience. Babies exist. They are entitled to a mid level restaurant and enjoying it with their parents like anyone else. OP was clear this wasn’t high end or a weekend. It was a midday Wednesday. Has anyone ever heard an adult laugh. Loud AF at times. If they don’t want to be around potentially loud babies or kids, they can stay home or pay for an establishment that isn’t appropriate for them to be there

P.S. restaurants, no matter low, mid, or high end, are loud in general. Everyone is loud

Mr_Bell_Man

YTA – There’s a time & place for everything. I could get if you tried to make the baby laugh if he was already screaming/crying, but you stated in another comment that you made him laugh out of the blue by tickling him. And then when the laughing was annoying the other eaters they asked you to stop. Had you stopped there then things probably would’ve been ok, but you continued the laughing anyway to just annoy everyone around you.
kingneck7611

YTA.

Constantly making your child laugh for the sake of laughing in a restaurant is rude. I personally would find it cute. For a bit.

My wife and I have had to get our dinners to go because of an inconsolable child. It’s just what we deal with as parents.

Let’s play a game. You’re out with your wife for a big anniversary. It’s supposed to be a romantic night out with just the two of you. Once at the restaurant a group of 4 people get seated next to you. You find out that they are celebrating a windfall business deal because of how loud they are being. They cheer, and toast to their success. Getting louder as they drink. Would you find it endearing and be happy for them? Possibly. Would it be annoying? Probably. Would you go home thinking they were assholes for ruining your romantic night? Most likely.

ashleighbuck

INFO: Were you making him laugh to stop him from crying? Or was the laughing (and “happy” yelling) avoidable, excess noise in a public setting? If the alternative is crying, I’ll take the laughing & yells lol. If he wasn’t crying tho….I don’t think I’d love that “happy” yelling
StatisticianSea2200

YTA the world doesn’t revolve around you and your family. Will you be the parent that ignores their child’s screaming out in public as well? Do that crap in your own home not out in public where, believe it or not, other people exist.
AliceInWeirdoland

YTA. Look, I hate the whole ‘never take babies in public’ thing, because babies need to exist in the world to help socialize them. But the caveat is that when you’re somewhere where people expect volume to be modulated and the baby gets too loud (whether that’s from laughing or crying, if we’re dealing with screaming it’s too loud), you *have* to take the baby outside. You keep saying ‘happy yelling’ like it’s different from ‘upset yelling.’ I’m sure it’s different to you and your wife, because you’re excited to hear him be happy, but to your table neighbors? It’s just a loud, piercing noise, and it’s rude.
uselesstoil

NTA I see a lot of people agreeing with the “stay home if you want to be loud” comments from the neighboring table but I feel the reverse of that, if you want to eat in silence and chill then maybe you should take it home and not eat in public where people might be loud or kids might be having a good time.

Public spaces are for everyone including those who aren’t fully in control of their voice levels, children, disabled, people laughing, crying, sometimes even mild yelling should be something you get over or stay home where you can control what everyone does.

I hate the idea that nearly every public setting is only for the mild mannered NPC ass adults of the world and anyone who doesn’t fit in including kids should just be locked away or silenced so y’all don’t have to experience something different than your chosen white culture social norms.

Outrageously_Penguin

INFO: what were you doing to make him laugh?
Cabellinho

NTA, and not surprised that most of the commenters say YTA. This sub is very individualistic and doesn’t support anything to do with family or community. Your kid was laughing and having a good time, not having a meltdown. That’s adorable. Have fun with your baby and screw the haters.
Striking-Arugula2519

I’m shocked by the majority responses. I have sat beside adults loudly laughing at a restaurant before and would NEVER think to ask them to curb their fun. Why do we think babies have to sit there quietly when we don’t expect adults to do the same? NTA.
mentally_messy102518

NTA. If they don’t like it, they can leave. Idk why everyone is saying y t a. You’re not. Babies are loud. Should parents never take their kids out to a restaurant because they make noise?
Istilleatgluten

YTA. Self awareness is a thing. To you it’s the most beautiful sound in the world. To everyone else it’s a shriek that gets louder and louder.

Conclusion

The internet weighed in, debating whether the father was in the wrong for his son’s happy noises. With a clear majority siding with the dad, the conclusion is drawn: sometimes, a baby’s laughter is just a baby’s laughter, and those who can’t handle it might be the ones with the problem. The restaurant incident became a viral tale of parental rights versus public etiquette, with most agreeing this dad’s actions were perfectly acceptable.

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