Coffee shops on a Sunday morning and children

[Needmorecaffine]

This will kick off no doubt but hey. Slightly tongue in cheek.

Coffee shops on a Sunday morning should be a haven for adults who seek to get away in piece and quiet from every day life for an hour. That means getting away from your own children , DH etc

So been here 5 mins , had to queue behind a mother with her toddler using the display of pastries like choosing sweets in a sweet shop ! Just pick up a croissant get your latte soya single shot and move along !

Then we have the child , mother and grandmother. The GM doing the exaggerated parenting in this case with the GC much to the horror of her own DD. Thankfully they've gone.

Piece and quiet now reins ....

If you want a childfree place to drink coffee go to a bar

No. These places are designed for adults. How about, 'if you want a place where your children will not impact on other diners go to McDonalds.'

This never used to be an issue as parents self regulated. They would look at a small coffee shop or a nice restaurant and think 'that doesn't look suitable for a antsy toddler/he will annoy everyone' but now it's 'it's my right' and there's accusations of 'discrimination'. Even when it's clearly designed for adults (no stupid babychinos, play areas or children's menus)

What were previously adult places (bars, pubs, restaurants, coffee shops) are now a place where adults feel its fine to bring kids meaning child free space is not guaranteed. Places that say adults only get dragged through the stock of social media as parents cry discrimination.

And yet there's a million wacky warehouse type pubs, harvesters, giraffes that I'd avoid because they are specifically child focused.

Instead of suggesting the OP goes to a pub to have coffee (unlikely to be a feast for the tastebuds) why don't parents go to places designated for children/families?

I didn’t know that harvesters and jiraffes are special places for children. They are very noisy and their food is rubbish. My DD never liked them even as a toddler. She loves posh coffee shops with nice cakes.
As for dogs... I hate this new tendency that dogs are welcome everywhere, except guide dogs of course. I don’t think that coffee shops are good places for dogs. They are animals (very nice ones, by the way) so I don’t want them around my food.

I would imagine that the number of cafes that welcome well behaved dogs, are far outnumbered by those that don’t. However that doesn’t actually have anything to do with the topic being discussed. 🤷🏻‍♀️

@nakedavengeragain there's long been a minority of attention seeking prickends keen to show off their edgy parenting skills by placing their children in environments not really suited to them but I agree that over the last 15 years or so it's become more commonplace and now every dull cunt wants to showcase incongruity in their choice of family outing. Except it's not even incongruous any more because so many of them do it. Kids don't even drink coffee anyway. And they sure as shit don't care if it's artisan or not. It's bollocks.

I am quite happy to have cafes that are welcoming of kids. I would just like some choice so there are adult only ones as well.

To be honest, I don't know why mums and tots meet in coffee places. If they took turns hosting in their homes, their kids would be much more comfortable

I suspect more parents of young children are living in flats rather than houses, with much less space than those whose DC are 16+ did. Also more dual income couples, so less opportunity for midweek coffee mornings. Kids at nursery all week and Mum and Dad at work to pay mortgage on 2 bed flat means they are much more likely to be out on a sunday morning.

This actually probrably represents a return to want was normal pre WW2 with most adults working and cgildren in public spaces.

YABU Those of us with small children who are up at the crack of dawn NEED coffee You could have the luxury of spreading out in your own bed/at your own kitchen table with newspapers, pastries, coffee uninterrupted!

(I'm pretty sure that when mine are teenagers I'll agree with you completely, though!)

The worst offenders seem to be the mid/late 30s parents who are hellbent on continuing their brunches etc as "having a child will not make a difference to our lives" and meet up in groups but let's not forget the previously mentioned mummy gangs who take over large sectors of places with their giant circle of buggies and high chairs .

To be honest, I don't know why mums and tots meet in coffee places. If they took turns hosting in their homes, their kids would be much more comfortable

Using this logic, why would anyone go anywhere in public? They would be much more comfortable in someone's home.

@hopefulhalf Not where I live. There are very few flats and the women I see with kids in coffee shops are always well dressed and look like they have money.

Using this logic, why would anyone go anywhere in public? They would be much more comfortable in someone's home.

When I meet friends in a coffee shop, I generally find my friends don’t want to run around, play house & climb on the furniture

I’ve obviously got the wrong friends 🤣😂😊

The point is that your average coffee shop is boring for most young kids as soon as they have eaten the cake or snack you have for them. Why would a toddler enjoy a coffee shop? It is in design an adult pleasure.

Yeah OP have you considered that you boomers with your Brexit house prices and hostility to avocados are responsible for the huge rise in housholders living in apartments (14%!! Of all housholders including pensioners, couples and singletons) and also of married mothers working full time (27%!) meaning that poor hardworking families have NO CHOICE other than to go to coffee shops, much like the bow legged lice ridden barefoot orphans of the Great Depression? Ah, but you wouldn't know about that would you, with your privilege and child hating mansion arse.

I think that the 3 barks/shouts/cries/runs and you're out concept is great. I suspect that you might observe the other tables keeping score and willing the kids to transgress to get them out rather than enjoying their own Sunday treat.

To be honest, I don't know why mums and tots meet in coffee places. If they took turns hosting in their homes, their kids would be much more comfortable
Because my house isn't big enough for 3 pushchairs and 6 kids plus 3 adults?
Because none of our houses are vaguely central?

I often take my eldest for a hot chocolate after school or if I'm on my own with both at the weekends as DH works then we head to costa for a couple of hours, lunch, cake, hot chocolate, then the very quietly have iPads/phone while I have a coffee in peace. I have more of an issue with the business men who order one drink for the morning and park their arses on the couch and table for 4 hours with their laptop for the WiFi while loudly talking on their phones. Nothing like taking a three year old mid week and sitting right next to them with cbeebies on my phone to ruin their mood.

Nothing like taking a three year old mid week and sitting right next to them with cbeebies on my phone to ruin their mood.

And you wonder why some people want a child free cafe.

My children are older and I work with small children. To be honest an adult only cafe sounds rather nice.

Businessmen talking loudly on phones is not okay. But why would you care if they are sitting silently working over one coffee?

There is a certain kind of parent who thinks that everywhere should be welcoming of their 3-year old.

Kids racing around and screeching are bloody annoying, but I don't see that very often here. Well behaved kids in cafes are lovely, badly behaved kids are a parenting issue.

YANBU OP, other peoples' children are fucking pains.

Dickhead parents don't help though - children watching tablets without headphones etc., or just smiling indulgently whilst their little monster runs around shouting "Oh, you can't expect children to just sit quietly! How unreasonable!" Pft. Why the fuck would I want to listen to fucking Peppa Pig while I'm trying to have a coffee and read a book?

I love a peaceful breakfast out on a Sunday morning with the paper and maybe with a friend and no kids. That is my idea of bliss. Most weekends I do it at home but it is nice to take it out sometimes.

meaning that poor hardworking families have NO CHOICE other than to go to coffee shops

that doesn't make any sense whatsoever, why would you want to go to an expensive coffee shop when you are poor?