Dear Families at ChuckECheese,
I realize that when you walk in the door they give you matching hand stamps for you and your child. While that feature may prevent me from taking your brat child home, it will not prevent me from wanting to beat your child while there. It is not an invitation to let your child out of your site and run freely amongst the entire restaurant, to push little kids out of the way swiping their tickets and/or coins from them. Oh, and yes, your children are NOT perfect little angels. They are wild children that clearly need an ass whooping time out. For the love of all that is holy, watch your freaking KIDS or they may come accross me and I WILL correct their little attitudes if they jump in front of my child on a machine.
Oh, and you, yes, you, “teenage boy” that insists on wearing your clothing with the tags attached. I get that you want to “look” cool. I get that you want your friends to even think you can afford nice things, fine. Hell, I was so proud in 7th grade when I got that Adidas jacket that I STILL have it in my closet….20 years later. But are we a society SO shallow that we are raising our kids to THROW THIER TAGS OVER THEIR SHOULDERS LIKE A SCARF, so our fellow citizens can read the freaking bar codes on them? Listen buddy, i shop at Ross too. I can get a “$200″ pair of pants for $19.99, but let me let you in on a secret of life. Its the same poor Somalian kid that makes them no matter where you buy them and they jack up the ticket so when you buy it for a price its still not worth, you can go home and tell your husband you got it “on sale” and justify the purchase. Point is, I dont give a flying shit if you bought it and how much it cost you. There is no nice way to say..you look stupid.
And ChuckECheese employees…your next. I don’t mind paying $11.99 for a small pizza. Or $6 for that thing you call a “salad bar”. Or even $1.99 for a drink. I don’t. But what i do mind is paying $10 for 40 tokens and HALF of your machines STEAL my coins. I call it stealing because you don’t actually send someone around to give us our coins back, are not at the counter when we go to tell you about it, and the games are on and playing noise, however do not work…so you are faking us into thinking that they will work..and when our unsuspecting 3 year old pops her little coin in hoping to play Spongebob Squarepants Racecar, she is met with the silence of the theft of coin. Thanks for that, btw. I really enjoy explaining the concept to a child.
But oh, ChuckECheese, we GOT you tonight. YES WE DID! We won the 200 ticket jackpot and it only took 15 coins to get there. We walked out smiling with our plastic frog, our minature tootsiepop, and our 300 ticket change purse proudly.
So take that.
~Haas Family.
Great article! And Andrea – I don’t drink and drive – but if I’m not driving, believe me I have a beer. I need one to tolerate the screaming, misbehaving kids of strangers.
I’m the MEAN Mom at CEC..I do NOT let my kiddo’s out of my site, even with their worthless hand stamp. There are just too many possible scenarios running through my head (yikes!)
The keywords here being..take responsibility parents! I will and do speak up to your kids and make them behave in your absence!
Chuck E. Cheese. WHere the “E” stands for E. Coli!
People are wearing their tags on their clothes? Have they never heard of Minnie Pearl? Oh wait, I’m sure they haven’t or they wouldn’t be caught dead trying to copy her
I’ve never been the CEC, and you hilarious post will certainly deter me from ever going.
LOL Sounds like a day at a food place. Lord help me when we go. LOL Thanks for the laugh.
Trisha, as long as we’re on the subject of Kids’ Places We Hate — we were on that subject, weren’t we? — when your daughter is old enough, avoid Libby Lu like the plague. You think the noise, chaos and expense of CEC are bad? Try adding head lice into the mix. That’s right — HEAD. LICE. Not from the combs, necessarily, but from the dress up clothes. Half of my daughter’s Brownie troop battled the little buggers all summer after an end of year party at Libby Lu. Never again.
Don’t get me started on the beer factor. That should be illegal. Let’s serve beer at a child’s play place and then let you drive your kids home?! WTH?!
You also forgot the CEC managers who schedule 3, yes 3, birthday parties to go on at the SAME TIME, and the employees who have to use a calculator to make change because you say “Oh wait, I have a quarter,” after you gave them your bills and they already put the amount in the register. Evidently elementary math isn’t required. All reasons why I call this particular place “Hell.” And in PA, they don’t even have the courtesy to serve beer in them.
gee, i always have long comments, lol, i talk(and type) too much 0:)
damn trisha you are on a roll! this and the xmas decorations in one night!! I love that you brought this up, cause this is a pet peeve of mine, parents who dont control their kids!!!
i havnt been to chucke e cheese with my kids, nor do i plan on taking them anytime soon, i know parents let their kids loose, i cant stand parents that do that- WATCH YOUR KIDS! my young cousin had his birthday there a few years ago, and while my sister and cousins were playing in the tunnel thing, this boy kicked my then 6 year old sister in the eye because he was playing tag there and she was in HIS way, she ended up with a black eye. the boys family didnt appologize, but i remember the managaer there gave my sister a free toy..
but i really hate when parents dont keep an eye on their kids, not only in public places like chucke e cheese, but at other ppls houses, we had a dinner at my aunts today and there were 27 kids in total, and about 20 adults ok the little kids were running around with cups of juice and food all over the house (they just got new beige carpet new paint, hardwood, curtains, and parents didnt do anything. When everyone left, a few us were cleaning up, and found juice stains and chocolate cake on the beige carpet. Iwas so angry, it wasnt my kids, i keep an eye on mine and literally follow my kids 24/7 esp at someones house, i dont give my kids food to carry around all over to make a mess.. i hate when ppl come over and let their kids do whatever, and you cant yell at them, you just sit and smile like everything is fine! grr
trisha i agree with everything in your letter!
PS. Same rules apply when you are at the indoor playground in the mall. Please do not drop your 9 year old in there and take off down the mall so he can kick the crap (literally!) out of my 17 mo old daughter. Sorry if he still isn’t sitting. Someone had to be a parent in his life!
i honestly just think those kids are brats. I do not understand why parents let their kids be unsupervised under a decent age. I mean 4 is still you have to have them in your site. Someone can TAKE your child and molest them. I dont get it at all.
I didn’t mean you, of course, Trisha. It’s the ones who aren’t watching their kids as they bounce off the wall.
oh, charlotte didnt get any sugar there till that mini tootsie pop and that was in the car. She had raisens, goldfish, cheese, and i she took one measly bite of pizza and drank tea for dinner.
Exactly why I have never introduced our son to Chuck E Cheese. If he doesn’t know it exists, he can’t ask about it. I dread any place where parents sugar their kids up and give them run of the place. I have respect for others, I only sugar my kid up at home
Wow, i haven’t been to Chuck e Cheese since my 8th birthday party. I don’t think I’ll go anytime soon either.
YOU GO GIRL!
And all I left with today was a wallet $40 lighter, a mini Tootsie pop and stickers… You hit the jackpot and left with your PRIDE!
Amen!
we never go to the rat palace because of the things you listed! drives me crazy!!
thats a beautiful post! you showed them! lol
I have witnessed these weird parents that just let their kids run alone in CEC and I hate them. They are lazy! Watch your kids! That goes for the park, the mall, the movies and everywhere else. Keep an eye on your child. Not that anyone wants to snatch your little troublemakers, but I personally do not want to get into a hair pulling purse flinging match cause you don’t like that I told your kid to behave because you weren’t around to do it yourself.