COMMENT
Hello, my name is Ben and I am 3 and I am so glad Keith Hamilton from Milford is not my grandad (Dialogue, November 9).
I am guilty of being one of those delinquent children who on rare occasions gets to go out with my mum and dad for dinner. We always choose a family-friendly restaurant that caters for me and has a play room for me to wander off to.
I do, however, have a clever mummy who has eyes in the back of her head, so if I decide to wander in a different direction she sends daddy to point me the right way. I have never in my short life felt abandoned by those who love me most.
Going out to a smorgasbord is ooooh so exciting, because there is so much to choose from, so yes, me and my fellow ankle-biters like to see everything and try everything. Alas, my manners can sometimes go off the rails as I try to see what there is, but I always say sorry if I stand on anyone's toes, especially any big person who has no problem seeing what they want.
The reason we go to family restaurants is because everybody else has gone there for a good time, too, usually to celebrate a special occasion like a birthday.
I thought everybody got sung Happy Birthday to on their special day. I know the story of the Christmas Scrooge but I didn't know the Birthday Scrooge was actually real and ready to scowl at others enjoying themselves.
My dad says in England they have pubs/restaurants with proper inside playgrounds, and they do better than the ones that don't. So when I grow up I might set one up here on the Shore.
I suggest the next grandchild's birthday Mr Hamilton gets invited to, he declines and sends a $1 birthday card instead. With the money he's saved he could go and dine in a select miserable restaurant by himself, have his pavlova in peace and then everyone will be happy.
The age of children should be seen and not heard and tripped up is long gone. In fact, another modern change is Take Out or Dial In. Try it. By the way, I'll be 4 in March and I'm going to my favourite restaurant with all my friends and they will all sing Happy Birthday to me, and MY grandad will sing the loudest.
* Ben's mum, Larissa Thompson, is a Herald reader from Glenfield.
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<I>Larissa Thompson:</I> Go on then, eat your pavlova in peace and be happy
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