Hooters Dad: ‘Pervert’ or Teacher?

A dad has stirred up controversy for taking his 11-year-old son to a Hooters restaurant to see how he acted around the women.

Bob Elston, who is a stay-at-home dad from Herndon, Va., wrote on his blog The Rain Racer , which explores parenting issues, that his September visit was meant as a way for him to gauge if it was time to have a talk about puberty and sex with his son. As part of his post, he snapped a photo of his son and his son's friend with a Hooters waitress .

"My 11-year-old boy has reached the age where girls at school are showing interest in him but he is not ready to reciprocate with equal interest in them," Elston wrote . "The trip to Hooters, I saw, as an opportunity to see how he conducts himself around women. If he drooled and couldn't take his eyes of the waitress, then that would be an unmistakable cue to me to start preparing another birds and the bees talk.  If he acted embarrassed and shy, then that would be a sign that such a pointed talk could wait a bit."

What Elston discovered was that his son felt awkward being taken to Hooters, he wasn't surprised, disappointed or regretful. "I just don't see these types of trips as changing anything. Rather, I am sure that my children's interest in all things sexual is stamped in their DNA somewhere and not subject to rise and fall based on how many boobs they see over a cheeseburger.  In fact, in a world where sex is used to sell anything and everything, I don't think my son saw anything in the restaurant that he couldn't see on TV, YouTube, at the beach or anywhere else.

"In the end, I would rather my kids be exposed to such things and see their reaction rather than driving through McDonald's for yet another Happy Meal in which nothing is gained but a 1,000 extra calories of processed food."

But not every parent agrees with Elston's experiment. "You are a boneheaded pervert! You just think that your child already sees it on TV, but now your child thinks you approve, which will set him on the wrong road. BAD DAD!" wrote Lisa on Elston's blog.

Added Jodi, "The problem with taking a young child to a restaurant like Hooters has nothing to do with being a prude. It is about the fact that Hooters objectifies women (after all, it's a a restaurant named after crude slang for a women’s breasts) and that is not what our young boys should be learning. If a young boy is taught it's okay to stare at and objectify women then it will be hard for them to grow up and respect women."

But the majority of comments on Elston's blog praised his efforts. Branden wrote, "Hey, just wanted to let you know as a fellow father of a 13-year-old son, I support you 100 percent on this. Most parents are not aware of what their children do or even think, even though they like to think they do. People should realize this and understand that as parents its our job to teach and attempt to be proactive rather than reactive when possible."

Binaryman said, "What's the big deal? It's Hooters, not a strip club. I'm pretty sure the two boys see a lot more sexier stuff outside of Hooters. They can't escape it even if they want to. They are bound to see women walking down the streets wearing things a lot more revealing than what a Hooters girl would be wearing."

On the parenting blog Parentdish , Elston said he has no regrets about causing controvery over this blog post or taking his son to Hooters. "I think that despite the divisiveness around this particular issue, we parents all have the same goal in mind. That is we are all trying to raise our children to grow into thoughtful, responsible and happy adults capable of making good decisions without Mom and Dad there to guide them. The trick for parents is to figure out a unique route to that common end point."