I have an Opinion!

http://apnews.myway.com/article/20080102/D8TU08S80.html

That's a link to a story you can read on your own. The general idea is about an All-You-Can-Eat restaurant battling with a couple who could really put it away. It's mildly interesting. My opinion comes from a caption quoted at the end of the article. It's from a sign posted in the restaurant. The more I thought about it, the more my opinion formed.

It says,' "Food is for eating, not toys for your child," reads a sign posted on a wall in typewritten text. A handwritten addition reads "Or 20% added." '

Now, I tell my kids to "start eating" all the time. Do they listen to me? Hardly. How does this proprietor propose parents get their children to not play with their food?

"If you don't stop playing with your food, I'm going to be charged another $1.50 and that's coming out of your allowance!"

Maybe you could just starve them all day so that they'd be willing to eat the napkins once they get to the restaurant.

Has the restaurant under priced their food and is losing money on what kids are heaping onto their plates then into the garbage? I would assume that once you pay for it, it's yours and if you want to play with it, then go for it!

Personally, I hate to see my kids waste food that I've paid for. I don't let them get too much at a time, and if they are not eating what they have, they certainly don't get to go back for more. But I can't swallow for them. If they aren't eating their food, I don't want to be the one who gets punished!

Luckily, this particular restaurant is in Louisiana. I doubt we'll have to worry too much.

This reminds me of the sign Chad and I saw in a downtown Salt Lake City's McDonald's while we were still dating. It posted a food consumption time limit of 20 minutes. (Do you remember that Mom and Dad Collett and Pamela?) They just wanted to you to get your indigestion and get the heck out!