Restaurant ignites fierce debate for charging parents for unruly kids: 'We said the quiet part out loud'

A California restaurant sparked a heated debate after instituting a policy to charge parents who fail to control their unruly children.

Chez Xue is a Chinese restaurant in Foster City — approximately 20 miles south of San Francisco.

'We are a casual restaurant, but we’re not a Chuck E. Cheese.'

Chez Xue has a policy that warns parents that they may be asked to leave the restaurant if their children are disobedient. The restaurant also cautioned that it will "hold parents financially liable for all damage caused by their children to restaurant property."

Chez Xue said on the restaurant's website: "Please control your children."

"Chez Xue is a family-friendly restaurant," the site said. "However, we are not a playground."

"Please ensure children REMAIN SEATED at all times and be respectful of fellow guests and the dining environment," the restaurant stated.

The notice declared, "Running around, shouting, making noise with utensils, etc. WILL NOT BE TOLERATED!"

"Guests not respecting this policy may be asked to leave," the Chez Xue restaurant said.

The eatery warned, "We will hold parents financially liable for all damage caused by their children to restaurant property."

The Los Angeles Times reported that the policy was instituted about a year ago when the restaurant's owner, You You Xue, caught a customer changing a baby's diaper on the top of a dining booth in the middle of the restaurant. After that incident, Xue knew he had to do something.

Xue, who does not have kids, got fed up with children "fooling around and basically trashing the place" while parents allowed their kids to be disorderly.

"We are a casual restaurant, but we’re not a Chuck E. Cheese," Xue told the Los Angeles Times.

The policy recently went viral after a patron posted screenshots of the restaurant's menu on the X social media platform.

The menu provided examples of "recent damages" caused by children at the restaurant.

In April 2025, parents were charged $327.03 because their child shattered a credit card machine when the kid picked it up and dropped it on the ground.

In December 2025, a kid used a utensil to carve drawings into a tabletop, and the parents were charged $109.38.

The restaurant charged a parent $5.47 after a child broke a teacup in January 2026.

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The internet was staunchly divided over the establishment's policy.

One netizen wrote on X, "If your kids are smashing credit card machines and carving things into furniture, they don't belong in restaurants. End of conversation."

Someone else said, "On the one hand, yes, absolutely, please raise respectful kids. In support! On the other hand, kids will be kids, and ~$500/yr in damages feels like a reasonable cost of doing business as a family-friendly restaurant."

Commenters were vocal on the restaurant's Instagram page about the policy.

One person wrote, "BRAVO on your policy fining families for disruptive children."

Another one said, "This is incredibly discouraging for people with children who have disabilities."

Someone proclaimed, "GREAT POLICY!"

Users on the restaurant review website Yelp were divided on the new policy.

A commenter stated, "Coming on here because I am so happy that the owner is standing up to parents and making them be accountable for their parenting. This is a practice that needs to be serviced everywhere. We have all seen too many examples of parents not watching or caring what their children do! Kudos to you."

Another person said, "Not a family restaurant! If you want to live in a kidless world, I guess this spot is for you. Don't forget you were a kid once and I am sure your parents brought you to restaurants before."

Someone added, "I hope more restaurants implement policies like this. The world and restaurant scene would be a much better place!"

Xue told the New York Post, "My staff, my servers were being forced to parent children on behalf of other parents. That's not their job."

Xue added, "Parenting has become so relaxed, and I know if I acted some ways these children are acting, I would have gotten my a** beat."

"We don’t blame the kids — I’m very proud of the fact that this is an unpretentious restaurant where people can come with their whole families," Xue explained. "It’s to remind this very small group of parents who are not doing their jobs: Please do your job so we can do ours."

Xue noted that he takes no pleasure in having to confront parents who are not disciplining their kids.

"I don’t want to be put in that position," Xue told the Los Angeles Times. "It's so awkward to go up to a parent and say something so obvious."

Xue told the Los Angeles Times that the general reaction to the policy has been overwhelmingly positive.

Xue revealed that the number of incidents "has fallen considerably to basically zero" since introducing the policy.

Xue stated, "We said the quiet part out loud. We said something that a lot of people are thinking, and we’ve come forward and spoken on behalf of other restaurants and on behalf of customers who have had a meal ruined by a loud child."

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