No children in pub after 5pm

Pubs with rooms - of course kids can eat in the pub then.

But this would have to be, provided the kids behave themselves and don't cause any trouble or nuisance to the adults around them. And yes, I know adults can be irritating/annoying when drunk. It's a well known fact that most children get tetchy, whiny, overtired when out later than their bedtime. Some children are fine if they're allowed to stay up, as a treat.

As I said before I think here, I've seen a few pubs (not many these days to be fair) where children have been parked on seats/in high chairs, past say 7pm. And young children at this. These have been gastro pubs mostly which serve food. Atmosphere fairly friendly in all pubs, one pub is strictly an old mans pub though.

Parents sometimes do or don't engage with their DC. Kids on the whole are just being children...and I can see them getting bored, whether they have an ipad or not or colouring pens/pencils and pads. It's even worse if you factor in a child with SEN. Some of my friends brought out their 8 year old DS who has SEN to a pub about a year ago, and the poor lad was overwhelmed, bored, didn't want to talk to us (shy) and I think my DNephew was there and tried to engage with him (DNephew was then 4 or just turned 5) or he was at home with my DM, can't recall which, but this poor lad just wasn't used to it all, he has been taken out to restaurants/Harvesters and so on, but a gastro pub with people he only saw occasionally was way too much for him to take in.

Two of the local pubs I know, they have steep stairs down to the garden area. Last time I was in one of them recently, someone hadn't cleared up a drink properly when I was going into the main garden area, and I almost slipped/ tripped on the stairs where it was spilled and told one of the wait staff about it, she agreed you had to be careful on the stairs as they were very steep but wiped up the spill and apologised for it not been wiped up sooner.

She also told me there'd been a nasty accident the day before where a child had been coming out of the toilets (which are in the basement) and up into the main bar area, and then down into the main garden area, down the steep stairs, had been running ahead of it's DM, not holding hands, the DM was running behind her and trying to catch her up and call her, but had a baby strapped to her (must've just done a nappy change) and her child (about 5 the wait staff said) had gone down the stairs and tripped down the last few stairs of the steep garden stairs and cut her lip/eyebrow/forehead area/head. Ambulance was called. Luckily the DM got in touch with the pub the day after as the pub was really concerned if the child would be ok, and apparently, sadly, she had to have stitches in her head and by the side of her eyebrow area. The pub already had a trip hazard notice at the top of the stairs and the relevant hatching tape on the stairs so it's clear, but have decided since this, to put a larger, brighter notice near the stairs, so that parents are fully aware of the stair hazard. Apparently the wait staff told me, she was surprised but not really, that another patron (customer) of the pub didn't grab the running child, but realised that some people don't want to do that for fear of being accused of something else or of interfering.

Most of the local mums I know (I live in a very family friendly area) want to escape their children at night and walk the 10-15 mins up the road without them, for some well deserved adult time, without children in tow, same goes for the fathers!

Most places I've been with these mums, if we have been to a gastro pub where there have been kids/babies when we arrived, we've tended to have gone to another venue instead. We have about 7-8 pubs in the same high street area, and that's not counting numerous bars and restaurants!

If you tip these scenarios on their heads though, say you had drunk adults rocking around a soft play place... that wouldn't be nice nor appropriate for both the adults and children there, as it's a children's space, where adults take their children to play and drunk adults would be out of place, and also, hopefully they wouldn't or don't (not been to one in ages so can't comment!) sell alcohol there. It's also the 7th circle of hell for most parents... soft play.

Pubs with rooms I'd assume kids would be allowed in the bar to eat and have a deadline of when they need to be out the bar.
I'm Scotland so find the idea that kid can be still in pubs for last orders a bit weird anyway.

What about pubs with rooms? Ive stayed in some lovely pubs around the UK with my kids on holiday, are they meant to eat in their rooms?

If they serve food then I think it’s very restrictive and they will lose business. If it’s purely drinking then I think it’s fine, though a bit early. Assume kids can sit outside in the summer if a beer garden? I don’t really agree with kids spending time in pubs, but it’s because a very good friend of mine has her kids sitting in pubs for hours whilst her and her partner gets pissed. Interestingly her eldest who is 28 and has 3 kids doesn’t drink much at all and wouldn’t take her kids to the pub. She’s a lot more conscious of that kind of thing. Her other child is still a teen so not sure which way he will go. Either way they’ve spent countless hours sitting in a pub when I’m sure that time could have been spent doing other stuff, or being in their own home. My kids have never sat in a pub when we have been having a drink, only for food and even then we don’t tend to go to pubs, more restaurants. Pubs are for adults.

I think she was telling you what she would have said to the woman telling you off in the pub in your story. Otherwise her post makes no sense.

Just remember children don't suddenly grow 2ft and become adults overnight on the eve of their 18th.

That said I'm not convinced teens should be hanging out in pubs far too easy for friends to be slipping them drink potentially putting the pubs licence at risk.

Most kids I know are desperate to be at home, on an ipad/watching TV, squabbling about bed/bath time and the pub is the last place they'd want to be!

Even when me and DP's did go to pubs (gardens!) as DC with them on summer evenings, we spent most of the time playing in the garden and would have much rather have been at home, but was a large spread out garden, pretty with ponds and a fountain I believe and paths, and hardly anyone ever came out from the pub! It's now sadly been turned into a huge car park - don't think they've got much of a garden apart from seating area outside the pub, but it's a Harvester now, not the landlord owned/leased pub it was before.

Why are you telling me to fuck off? Or are you being sarky or PA? I know pubs aren't for kids.

Don't go to this pub, OP!

(Sign designed to make Mumsnet explode, I think)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cv2rp4dmxv2o

I have to say I think some pps haven’t actually been in many pubs given the images of dark hellpits of inebriation and foul language that have been conjured up on this thread. Of course some pubs are like that. But very many aren’t, and some even succeed at being actual pubs and not refectories while also being pleasant spaces to be in.

Our local is pretty much my idea of the perfect pub. Nicely decorated spaces, plenty of seating, friendly staff, music is in the background not blasting people’s ears off. Best of all in my eyes (not being a massive fan of how food has come to dominate most social occasions), it doesn’t serve food apart from Sunday lunch and a few ham rolls and things, so the overall aesthetic isn’t dominated by food or its smells or waitstaff tripping to and fro. I don’t know what the kids policy is, but I don’t recall ever seeing any/many in there and I presume that’s because of the absence of all-day-every-day food.

It’s got a great atmosphere. But it’s for grown-ups. And personally I enjoy socialising in a space that doesn’t have peas trodden into the carpet, stink of spilt vinegar or have kids swinging off the backs of strangers’ chairs as happened to me the last time I was in a pub. There are plenty of child-friendly pubs, and plenty of places that allow kids after 5 p.m. I fail to see why the idea of there being some nice spaces catering mainly to adults is so foreign to some.

But why do you think those are the only options? There's a world of nuance between 'pub that's basically a restaurant' and 'dark and dingy old man pubs' it's not either/or. (When do you consider to have been 'the olden days', by the way? Just curious.)

@Anonymous2025 When I go abroad I choose adult only hotels

Clearly you haven’t been abroad much ! I just spoke with my brother in law who was at his mother in law birthday party and they where yet to cut the cake c there was about 8 kids all under 10 there . It’s very normal

Kids out at 11pm? I can’t think of anyone who’d want that including the parents

Oh fuck off. Pubs. Aren’t. For. Kids.

I think it is good as children should not be in the pub later than that say for a lunch as not a good environment. Never had my son in a pub as so many other restaurants can go to. Different if a lunch time but not for an evening at all. What child wants to be stuck in a pub all evening anyway.

Completely agree

The UK I actually find isn’t that unfriendly to children. Most places I’ve visited with children they’ve been fine. It depends entirely on the venue, area and parents. Cafe Rouge Dulwich, generally naicer parents. I’m not saying poorer parents aren’t fine either because I’ve found they actually are too but demographic can help.

It’s certainly not as bad as in 70s when it was no kids, dogs etc! My first meal at a restaurant back then was at a local new restaurant serving beef burgers, chips, and knicker bocker glories and sundaes, plus cocktails including virgin ones and decorated with signed black and white photos of movie stars and music stars plus the owners and waiters/waitresses were really friendly and welcoming to families with children. They had colouring pencils and paper too. Otherwise restaurants very rarely welcomed children. So things have definitely moved on since those days!

That's because the kids are now turning into adults. Kids menus and "fun pubs" were a big thing twenty years ago but they've grown up and are now the parents.

But those parents in turn are going to want to take their kids to fun pubs with kid menus, so it's not really a one-generation kind of thing...

(Although having grown up in a party town, for me the words 'fun pub' conjure up a slightly different atmosphere, and not a kid-friendly one either... 😄)

I do think in certain pubs and on certain occasions children are welcomed. I know of a few proper east end boozers who eg after christenings and weddings happily welcome children, especially if they’ve held the catering there.

I don’t think you have to ban children by any means but as has been said before, the ones who are misbehaved will give others a bad name. My DNephew (5) on a good day eats well and behaves well but when we went to a pub with food and games (including video games and games consoles) he quite quickly didn’t want to engage with adults and just wanted to play games… but that was partly our fault for choosing that environment.

I can assure you that plenty of people 'elsewhere', yes maybe even in those incredible 'Mediterranean countries,' do not want to be surrounded by other people's 'brilliant' children at all times of the day or night. There are plenty of places in Britain where children are welcome. There are other places where they are not. And yes, such places exist 'elsewhere' too. I usually avoid restaurants which advertise themselves as 'family friendly' but if for whatever reason I might be in one, I wouldn't complain about the presence of children. Likewise, if you want to eat in a more sophisticated environment, you can't expect others are going to be that impressed by your 'brilliant' children.

I couldn't care less if you assume I 'like children' or not.

And that is why the U.K. is an unfriendly place to children🤷🏻‍♀️. You are explaining it yourself . People here seem to get annoyed simply by a child’s presence , even if they are not doing anything , even if all they are doing is sitting down . That attitude is not felt elsewhere . That’s the cultural part that should change . Or at least if people like you don’t want change then don’t get offended by outsiders assuming you don’t like children . Because the reality is the U.K. is very child unfriendly . That’s simply due to people being so entitled they for some reason assume they have more rights than children to be in places . Once more it’s the culture

Some adults (including parents with kids) like to be in an environment where you can say what you like without little ears overhearing.

Once a friend was in a pub (I wasn’t there) and said she got told off by some parents at the next table/seating to hers as she apparently laughed too loudly (she does have a loud laugh) and told rude jokes near some children with their parents which the parents said weren’t suitable for their DC to hear! The rude jokes only used a few swear words and weren’t that rude and my friend said the kids (who were apparently 6 year old twins as some of my friend’s friends asked) were screaming and shouting eg quarrelling and overtired a bit but not all the time, too, and on iPads (but sound turned down) and she didn’t think they’d heard… this was at 9.30pm in the evening…. This was at a gastro pub type venue but on the trendier side.

My friend said, “I do apologise for my behaviour and any language I used if it spoiled your evening, but don’t you think it’s now past your children’s bedtime?!”. Cue cat’s bum mouth from the complaining mother and they left not long afterwards.

Anonymous2025
I agree with you that it's cultural. There's a lot of parents in the UK who expect manners, context appropriate behaviour, take their children out to pubs/cafes/restaurants and make a huge effort to teach their children how to behave. They probably do similar things to you.

We took DC out to places that were age appropriate for expectations from a young age eg. Coffee in a cafe for a short period of time, brunch, lunch in a cafe with a play space, pub lunches and then gradually built up to evening meals. My children aren't perfect, but they're well behaved and know what's expected. The way some lazy parents talk, you'd think that UK children are innately programmed to run feral and then there's a magical unicorn child who is born knowing how to behave. I suspect it makes them feel better about either not putting the effort in or not bothering to make compromised when their DC were little so they could learn how to behave.

Miserable sods who give evil looks at well behaved children enjoying a family meal in a venue that serves meals to families are going to be miserable sods in general life in my experience. I don't tend to worry about them.

Having kids does change the atmosphere of pubs though so I'm supportive of saying it's an adult only venue after early evening (once early dinner service has ended).

So one side of me feels it’s unfair when I can’t take he kids out for a dinner without someone giving me the evil look , specially because kids are actually ok and from the odd occasion ( they are children after all ) .

You can't take them out to Nando's? Or Pizza Hut?

They are brilliant on planes and traveling and eating out because we take them out often and abroad often and they get used to it and there is no way I would just let my kids create havoc.

Even if kids may seem 'brilliant' to their parents, their presence changes the ambience of a place. Some people just want a night out with other adults. I don't care what they do or don't do 'on the continent'.