Q. My wife and I were having lunch in our local bistro. A boy of about two was wandering around the restaurant and after a while began to scream loudly, with no remonstration by his parents. At this point my wife asked them if they could make the child desist. This brought a diatribe of abuse from the Aussie hipster father. The mother’s response (she was a Mitteleuropean) was that he was only small. Management was reluctant to intervene so what should we have done?
— C.H.-T., by email
A. The same people who fly off the handle in response to someone trying to ‘boss them about’ will happily obey the same orders if they come in the form of a general announcement. You might have gone outside and recorded a voice memo on your mobile to the effect of ‘For the enjoyment of other diners, please would parents ensure that small children are kept under control’.
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