SO what has our country become?

I find it sick that my news feed today is actually filled with people that are okay with this diner owner yelling at a child. You should never yell at a child that isn't yours, period. As well I ran a lot of stores, and a lot of restaurants, and I never once yelled at a child, or had other patrons ask me to do the same.

One friend posted on her wall about her experience with her children  "when they were little to include fine dining. We always got over the top compliments from servers and other customers. My kids knew what was appropriate behavior as toddlers. I can remember once and only once where my son misbehaved and I removed him immediately from the restaurant so as not to disturb other diners paying to enjoy a meal. IT only took once. Honestly that tact seems dead with some of today's parents. A little kid yelled (not upset--just making obnoxious noise) through my dinner with my husband the other night while her parents did NOTHING to quiet her down or remove her.
As a parent, you do have an obligation to remove your child if it disturbs diners. If your child does not have the temperament or manners? They are not ready to dine in public with others. It's a privilege. Not a right."

This wasn't at some fine dining, we have plenty of money, and I'm a DisneyMom event. RIGHT? Yes, this comment above came from a mom blogger that is a DisneyMom ... which I hope they saw that post because that is the type of person they are connected to. This was a family at the end of a vacation trying to get some breakfast and get on the road. They waited 30 minutes for a table, which they didn't leave because on a weekend morning ever diner would have had the same wait. Then they waited 40 minutes for their child's pancakes. Would your toddler at the end of a vacation act that way once they were starved?

Parents are saying they should have had cheerios, or coloring books, or numerous other things. Really? DO you think that would have stopped the crazy reaction from the owner. And how often do you take all of that into a diner on vacation? Be honest. ..

And have you all seen the diner footage of the crazy owner? I have seen that, her response on Facebook and the parents side of things and I feel like we've shifted too far over to the wrong side of the tracks in our country if we think it's okay for a business owner to yell at a toddler.

And all of the women that are posting about how it was their fault. You should never take a fussy baby out to a restaurant (yes... even on weekend on vacation in Maine)... I am sickened at the way our society is reacting to this event.  It really breaks my heart.



Photo Credit: PoisonedCandyFloss/Tumblr

One gals response was "she said her kid was "fussing" . We all know what that means. Also, they still should have known better to just go somewhere quick or have something with them so that the kid wasn't starving while they were waiting."

Another gal said, "Here's the crux of it. People are claiming this small town Maine diner owner is unprofessional. How many of these people have been to small town Maine? The idea that everyone should run their business to the same standards is ridiculous. Ever hear of local color? Ever heard of a business owner being rough around the edges? I have no problem with what she did. You walk into a small town diner, cash only kind of place, you adjust your expectations from a restaurant chain dining experience. You don't get food in 10 minutes. You don't get fake pasted on smiles. You get real small town America. And if she's looking out for her regulars and is rude to an out of towner...well again. That's kind of what I would expect."

Really... if you live in a small town you are expected to be rough around the edges and everyone else should just get over it?

There is also a comment that I saw on a thread when someone asked this owner if they were open today. The owner said they weren't closing because of some "retarded child with autism," then advised the lady not to bring in kids or she could expect their food to get spit in.

Really... this owner is sick in the head, and the people that are applauding her ... I just don't get it. I had to rant. Thank you universe for allowing me the sanity to see that this behavior shouldn't be applauded.

What does food and exercise have to do with anti-depressant use? 

Food is the most widely abused anti-anxiety drug in America, and exercise is the most potent and underutilized antidepressant. ~ Bill Phillips.

The Ashley Madison's affair hookup site being hacked and the fact that the states with the highest infidelity were also the states with the highest antidepressant use wasn't surprising to me. National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), says the rate of antidepressant use in this country among teens and adults (people ages 12 and older) increased by almost 400% between 1988–1994 and 2005–2008. So what about today? 


An article in the Indian Journal of Psychiatry starts with: "Few people are aware of the connection between nutrition and depression while they easily understand the connection between nutritional deficiencies and physical illness."

I know that the state with the number four slot, Utah, for use of the Ashley Madison website also has not only the highest use rates of antidepressant use in the country, but the highest depression index, according to a National Mental Health Survey in 2007. And from my days in restaurant operations I know one of the most popular restaurants in the chain industry has the highest amount of cheesecake sold at their Utah location. 

So what is the answer for lowering the use of antidepressants... I have no clinical answer other than the more real foods we eat, and the more we make it a practice to move and breathe vigorously daily, the better off I think we'll be.