Hanging With 14-Year-Olds Can Be A “HOOT”

Hooters – the restaurant that bills themselves as: “delightfully tacky yet unrefined”; the restaurant where the girls are hired based on their looks and “measurements”; a restaurant every woman, in my opinion, should be completely insulted by and should probably boycott. It was this restaurant where I was invited by another mom, to join her and 9 of her fourteen-year-old son’s closest friends, on Friday night. Yep, my almost 14 –year-old son Jake, is amongst the fortunate ones to have been invited.

Let’s be honest: by the age 14, the boys have already had their “Health Class” in school, and are very aware of girls. Most of my son’s friends have or have had girlfriends – my son included. I think at this age, the girlfriend/boyfriend dynamic is pretty innocent. When I asked Jake a few months back what it means to have a girlfriend, he said, “I carry her books to class.” This is not to say there hasn’t been kissing happening, but for now, I would like to believe that is all that’s happening. Jake has even admitted to me of his perusal through the pages of a Playboy magazine (not from my house, of course).

Our family has ventured to Hooters a couple times. Once when Jake was 6 months old (we have a picture of him being held by 12 Hooters girls). A few years ago while on holiday in Charlotte, NC and most recently when we vacationed in Aruba. It wasn’t until this visit to Hooters in Aruba did a lightbulb go off over Jake’s head: We suggested taking a more recent picture of him with our Hooters waitress. She had long, dark, flowing hair, and said, “Wait! Let me move my hair, so you can see the HOOTERS word on my shirt!” The moment she did that, Jake immediately perked up, the light shining brightly over his head and he remarked, “OMG – THAT IS WHAT HOOTERS STANDS FOR!” It was at that very moment I realized my son was no longer an innocent boy, but a boy turning into a young man. Needless to say, we had a good laugh.

When I was asked to join my son and his friends for this latest Hooters adventure, I was a little hesitant. I know it’s bit inappropriate of a place, and yet I am not one of those moms who live in a bubble, nor am I a hypocrite. I mean how can I stop him from going this time, after I’ve taken him there myself in the past? Besides, the cheerleaders at the NFL football games we watch are dressed as scantily, if not more so, than these waitresses. And, I figured, I’d much rather see firsthand how the boys behave in this type of situation, than to assume how they will.

When we pulled into the parking lot, the boys were all giddy – in an innocent kind of way. We took pictures of them underneath the ‘Hooters’ sign before entering. As we walked through the first set of doors, I heard one of the boys mumble, “I have no idea what we’re in for…”

Upon entering the restaurant, it seemed to us as if the waitresses were lined up waiting for us. I was actually a little taken aback by the low-cut shirts. Previous visits seemed not to reveal as much. The girls offered to take a pic with the boys but the ratio of boys to waitresses was about 3:1. Not sure how my 6’1 son ended up next to a 5’1 waitress but needless to say, he did.

The boys quickly proceeded to our table to eat and that was it. The novelty was over! Our waitress was probably the most “covered up” and the boys mostly concentrated on the wings and their phones. OH THOSE PHONES. I think they were Instagramming their welcome photos and competing to see who got the most “likes”. My son Instagrammed a picture of him and his posse sitting around the table.

I was joined by two other moms. We had the quesadillas and chix sliders. The boys all had wings and grilled cheese. The food there is pretty good. We were there for no more than an hour and the entire ride home not one word about the girls was mentioned. The boys were back to playing and singing to their crazy music. In my opinion, I think their music is probably more inappropriate than the restaurant, for now!

I guess I can say my time with the boys at Hooters was a #HOOT!

Cindy Corbett

Native New Yorker, transformed Boston sports fan. Love going to the movies, spending time with my kids, tropical vacations, all things entertainment & trendy fashion, anything on Bravo and hanging with my girlfriends. Would rather snack all day than have a meal. Love everything celebrity but don’t ever want to be one :)