Headline-Grabbing News!
What's your opinion? Join the debate!
Scott says he's waited tables for over 20 years and approves of what many places are calling the "brat ban." He goes on to say, "Nothing bothers me more than when a kid comes into my restaurant and leaves food all over the floor " food we don't even serve!"
Fellow audience members voice their disagreement with Scott, and the stage becomes heated when Serita recalls her story:
"I never thought that my son's ‘cooing,' could get me arrested," Serita says. "We were in a public library, and the sound he was making was like a [loud screech]. The security officer came right over and asked me to quiet him down. I was able to quiet him down, but when I asked the library manager why they were kicking me out, the security officer called the police." She goes on to say that the police issued her a citation and warned her that if she came back to the library she would be arrested for criminal trespassing. Serita says she was handcuffed and tossed in the back of a police car. "I was shocked. I was panicking," she says. "They are prosecuting a mother for a baby being a baby."
Dr. Phil asks Serita how the incident escalated from a a noise to a full-blown altercation, but the mother stands firm that the authorities overreacted.
"They took it to that point," she says.
"You called the news station before the police even got there," Dr. Phil clarifies. "Did you get mad and call [them] names?"
[AD]"Outside of the library, yes," Serita says. "At that point, they showed me no respect."
Dr. Phil attempts to get Serita to see the other side. "If you're studying for an exam, and a kid is [making noise], and you can't concentrate, there could be a clash, right?"
Serita stands her ground, explaining this library is different than all other libraries.
In another story that made headlines, Phillip says he was accused of slapping a stranger's 2-year-old daughter at his local Walmart. Due to numerous death threats, Phillip asked that his identity remain hidden and joins the show via telephone.
Phillip says that through independent research, he was able to discover that the child involved in the incident was actually 4 years old, not 2, and "old enough to know right from wrong," he says.
[AD]"Do you have children?" Dr. Phil asks.
"No. I just decided not to bring any more life into the world," he answers matter-of-factly. He says that so many parents turn a deaf ear to their child's screaming and bad behavior.
Katie says she'll never forget the day that a flight attendant threw her and her 19-month-old baby off a Continental flight bound for Oklahoma City.
"He started saying, ‘bye bye airplane' over and over," she says, describing the incident. Reportedly, the flight attendant approached her and demanded she give the child baby Benadryl to put him to sleep. The young mother refused and was given a security escort off the flight.
She says she was prepared for travelling with a child, but her two-hour layover turned into an 11-hour delay, and the child grew restless throughout the day.
[AD] What Would You Do In These Scenarios?
Take a Poll!Seventy-two percent of viewers polled said they would take the child out the restaurant " an overwhelming majority.
"The fifth option is " just don't go," says one audience member. "Know what your child is capable of."
"Why is your cell phone any less annoying than my child?" says another audience member says. "You are in public. There are all kinds of annoying."
Pittsburgh restaurant owner, Mike Vuick, says that out of a growing need to keep his dining area noise-free and adult-friendly, he distributed flyers throughout the restaurant instructing patrons that children under 6 would not be allowed.
The policy reads: "McDains restaurant will no longer admit children under 6 years of age. We feel that McDains is not a place for young children. Their volume can't be controlled and many, many, many times they have disturbed other customers."
"How's that working for you?" Dr. Phil asks. "Do people like this?"
Mike says that business is up considerably and support is overwhelming. He admits that he has no children, which gives Dr. Phil a laugh, but continues, "I don't drink, but I don't think that disqualifies me from identifying a drunk!"
"It's not the kids," Dr. Phil says. "We talk about the younger generation like we don't have anything to do with it. That kid is acting like a chimpanzee because the parent isn't controlling the child. Can you be so socially insensitive as to not be aware?"
An audience member Andrea says she agrees with the ban, saying that in some restaurants, children just do not belong, but another audience member interrupts. "Wouldn't it make more sense if it was a ban on noise altogether?" she asks.
"There should be a ban on rude behavior," Andrea says.
Andrea's husband says he compares the noise from children to second-hand smoke.
[AD]"But my child is not going to kill you!" one audience member snaps back.
"When they can't behave, they don't have a right to be there," another says.
"There's a reason why [more] restaurants aren't banning children and that is because it's a form of discrimination; pure and simple," another audience member adds.
"Is there a point where it becomes disturbing the peace?" Dr. Phil asks the audience. "There is a law against that!"