A mother has declared she will no longer take her children to restaurants, citing exhausting public judgement and a lack of understanding from fellow diners as her reasons for the drastic change.
The Pizza Express Tipping Point
Catherine Balavage's breaking point came in May 2025. After a swimming lesson, her daughter erupted into a full-scale tantrum in the middle of a Pizza Express. What began with crying escalated to the child standing on a chair, shaking a railing, before throwing herself to the floor in a screaming fit.
Mortified, Catherine eventually resorted to a fireman's carry to remove her distraught daughter from the premises. As she waited outside on the cold winter evening for her husband to settle the £91 bill and gather their other children, the disapproving stares from a Deliveroo driver and a passing woman cemented her decision. The experience, she says, simply wasn't worth the stress.
A Lifetime Love of Dining Out Dimmed
Catherine, a former restaurant reviewer who once assessed nine venues in three days, has always cherished eating out. She and her husband used to dine out weekly before becoming parents. Initially, she was keen for her children to experience the privilege and learn social etiquette.
However, she quickly encountered hostility. Judgement began with breastfeeding, forcing her to often feed her baby in toilet cubicles to avoid stares. The criticism intensified as her family grew. On one occasion, after a long journey to a hotel, she and her husband took their tired children for a 7pm dinner. Two women at a neighbouring table complained loudly throughout the meal about their 'irresponsible' parenting for keeping a baby up late.
"I had to bite my lip to stop from crying," Catherine recalls. The women later approached to say they could tell the family were 'good parents', an act Catherine found astoundingly hypocritical.
The High Cost of Family Dining Stress
Despite always being prepared with toys, crayons, and using screens only as a last resort, Catherine found that nothing was enough to placate some people. Disapproving looks over minor noise, mess, or screen time became a regular, chilling feature of family meals out.
She acknowledges not all experiences have been negative, praising her incredibly supportive local Italian restaurant where staff have even walked her son around to give the parents a break. She also notes that her ten-year-old now behaves impeccably throughout a meal, offering hope for the future.
Nevertheless, her current stance is firm. "Spending often three-figures for an experience that leaves me more stressed than before is just not worth it," she states. The family now opts for delivery services like Deliveroo for the same food without the anxiety.
A Call for Societal Understanding
Catherine places the blame not on her children, but on a growing intolerance towards them in public spaces. While she firmly believes parents must ensure their children don't run wild or be disruptive, she argues society must accept that children sometimes have moments.
"The more children are respected and welcomed into society, the more they will become functioning members of it," she concludes, advocating for a little more understanding from the public. Her story raises questions about how family-friendly modern British society truly is.
