‘This clearly touched a nerve’: Bay Area restaurant’s ‘please control your kids’ policy goes viral
Jul 17, 2026, 11:19 AM
A Bay Area restaurant’s new policy about kids’ behavior has gone viral. Is it a reasonable reminder about restaurant manners or does it go too far?
If you’re a parent, you know going out to eat with small kids can be a challenge. Sometimes, making sure they eat is the least of your worries.
I’m talking about trying to avoid meltdowns and keeping them in their seats.
Parents have their own rules, but what about restaurants?
Chez Xue in Foster City added some rules to its menu earlier this year, and it’s getting a lot of attention. Written across their menu: “Please control your kids.”
Banned behavior includes making noise with utensils and shouting. Any unruly behavior can get the whole table kicked out.
If kids break dishes or damage property, parents may have to pay for those repairs. For example, one family paid about five dollars after a child knocked a teacup off a table.
In another case, parents were billed more than $300 after a child dropped and shattered a credit card machine. The owner of the restaurant, You You Xue, told a CBS affiliate that the message isn’t anti-kid.
“It’s about the principle. I have $5. It’s not about that $5 broken teacup. It’s about the fact that you came in here not respecting the rules,” Xue said. “You let your child play around. They cause some sort of damage. You should be directly responsible. A lot of people very quietly tell me that they support this policy because they don’t want to be seen as nosy or, you know, like disruptive to other parents.”
Xue said the goal isn’t to make money; it’s to keep staff from becoming babysitters.
“You really can’t blame the kids. Kids are kids. Kids will be loud. Kids will cry. It’s OK,” Xue said. “But it’s up to the parents to take the appropriate action to make the appropriate response.”
He summed it up this way.
“We’re speaking on behalf of the customers who cannot say the unspoken, and we’re speaking on behalf of restaurants that cannot put forth such a blunt and unpolished message to the public,” Xue said. “You know, we’re just really happy to start a conversation. This clearly touched a nerve.”
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Having rules for your kids while out in public
I’m a mom. I have had the experience and privilege of dining out with my kids.
Let me tell you, my husband and I have rules for our toddlers. And guess what? The same rules apply at home as when we eat out.
I know this restaurant caused a huge debate, with some people saying they agree with the policy and others saying it goes too far. I support this policy; I’m just disappointed it got to the point where a restaurant felt the need to plaster rules across its menu.
