Dad Carries 2-Yr-Old Out Kicking & Screaming, Then Writes Message for Anyone Who Doesn't Have Kids
Parents, you all know the feeling. Your screaming toddler is throwing a fit in public, and you’re getting all the stares.
Clint Edwards experienced this same struggle of parenting one night when he and his family were trying to enjoy a casual dinner. But how he handled the situation is what has gone viral.
Edwards and his wife have three children, ages nine, seven, and two. And like most families, they like to occasionally enjoy a nice dinner out.
One evening, while dining at Red Robin, Edwards’ 2-year-old daughter began to throw a fit because “mom wouldn’t let her throw chicken strips.”
The tantrum, filled with kicking and screaming, forced this dad to brace himself against the dirty looks of childless diners as he carried his toddler out.
Edwards, a writer for his hilariously honest blog “No Idea What I’m Doing: A Daddy Blog” and author of the book “This Is Why We Can’t Have Nice Things: (Parenting. Marriage. Madness),” took to Facebook to write a truth-filled message to all complainers who don’t have children.
He snapped a selfie saying, “I’m stuck in the van with my toddler… since I was the only one finished with my meal, I had the pleasure of dragging her out of Red Robin.”
Edwards addressed the stares from the assuming childless people at the bar that appeared to say, “if you can’t control your kid, then don’t go out.'” “Well… no. I can’t control her,” he wrote.
“She’s two and it’s going to take years to teach her how to act appropriately in public,” said Edwards. “The only way I am ever going to teach that is to take her out and show her what’s right and wrong.”
He continued his truth rant by exposing that those same irritating diners at the bar were a part of this learning process too. “It’s how you learned to be a respectable person,” he said.
Edwards admitted that in his past days as a server, he used to be that person who got annoyed and complained about children. But now he wishes he could go back and tell his past self all about “the realities of parenting.”
“I get it. Kids are irritating when they are loud in a restaurant,” he wrote to the Facebook community.
“But before you get angry and judgmental, realize that what you are witnessing is not bad parenting, but rather parents working hard to fix the situation.”
Edwards’ post reached over 150,000 shares in just one week as many parents — and non-parents — soaked in his truthful words. “You are looking at what it takes to turn a child into a person.”
Truth and Accuracy
We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.
Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. Advertise Today.
