I completely agree with you. I like that this is more of a "anit-bad parenting" letter, not an "anti-kids" letter. Even as a parent of four kids, situations like this still tick me off. When I have my kids in tow, it's usually so I can spend time with them, and I hate when we go to a restaurant, deli, or coffee shop and other kids are running amok. They usually end up flocking to us, and we end up leaving because I'm really not in the business of teaching other people's kids manners if their parents aren't doing it. I have a very high-spirited three-year-old, and I have him at a point now where we can go somewhere and sit down. But once another kid starts goofing off, I have to remove him from the situation, because he'll just melt down.

As a corporate restaurant employee, I know that it's a big no-no for us to say anything to these parents. I don't know why, but management will flip out, because if the parent of the demon children calls corporate, WE get in trouble. I guess it's because these corporate big-wigs don't work IN the restaurant, so they only care about the complaints they get. THIS is where your letter comes in. If more pissed-off patrons write letters/make phone calls to corporate about how kids are running around uncontrollably, they might actually listen. And that makes my job, both as a server and as a mom, easier.