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 ....

I feel your pain op. 3 couples used to take turns choosing our Saturday evening night out meal.
No pre discussion just follow the cars sort of planning.
Once followed couple 1's car - to a bloody Wacky Warehouse place! Call me a brat but I refused to get out of the car!!
No way was my child free evening out going to be listening to dc screaming and shouting!!
Dh was mortified!!
Couple 2 agreed so we all went elsewhere - including couple 1!!

Our favourite cafe is too small for a pushchair. We use a carrier

Tbh it’s not as annoying as couples/families who sit there glued to their phones and don’t even converse with one another. What’s the point? I think I’d rather being chatting with my kids/being noisy and you know, actually ‘doing’ something together.

Other people sitting quietly annoy you?

binkpink - I was being tongue in cheek. Obviously I don’t have to go anywhere at all with them - but what kind of life would that be?

I think that most coffee shop are never really places for children.

Bonkers!

I took your post as tongue in cheek OP. I get that I have no right to complain but I hear you. DH and I went for a rare late afternoon/early evening drink yesterday to watch the rugby and the pub was full of screeching kids doing laps, bumping into tables while the parents sat getting bladdered and smiling indulgently. Nobody having food, just tables full of Fruit Shoots and sticky wine glasses. Thankfully we found a quiet corner away from the crèche

I’m going to say both you and I are a bit unreasonable. If these venues are open to the public then so be it. Up to the owner or landlord to discourage any category of clientele. Sorry!

bluearse
Doesn’t annoy me but I find it mighty strange. I’d be more likely to think “why go to the effort of going to a cafe and spend money on food and drink to sit glued to your phones”? You could do that at home.
A family sat chatting seems much more healthy/normal to me.

Coffee shops are exactly a place to take children- usually after burning off energy at the park or soft play - or as a treat for older children.

Isn't lovely when your children are all grown up and you can forget how difficult those early years can be.

What about lone parents who are climbing the walls and want to get out? I sometimes took mine to a cafe so I was near adults. They were generally well behaved but DD would sometimes be a pain and I'd have to rein her in.

If your kids are grown up why can't you have a cup of coffee at home. That would be peaceful wouldn't it?

t’s not as annoying as couples/families who sit there glued to their phones and don’t even converse with one another.

what the hell is wrong with that? Sitting down for a coffee IS the best time to check phones!

If your outing of the day is the coffee shop, fair enough it's a bit of a shame, but many of us only get there as a pit stop to use the loo and sit down for 10 minutes.

If people actually read my OP you would see that this is tongue in cheek and light hearted as I know that there are some very sensitive souls out there.

It would appear that opinion is divided on the matter.

Happy Sunday all

OP I am childfree and this has driven me out of most public spaces over the last 20 years. Even museums and galleries are playgrounds now.

I've had a few gatherings in my flat where I've only invited friends without children because I feel it would be rude to say "this is adults only" and someone is bound to have a babysitter fall through etc. etc.

I've had my parent friends say to me "how will they learn to behave when out if we don't take them" but somehow, my generation learned. What a mystery.

YABU our kids are now adults, but I know that at weekends coffee shops will be full of families.
I'd choose a pub or a dog friendly cafe (our large pack tend to put parents off, despite the fact they are muzzled to protect wildlife, not children).

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

All the bars around here are child and dog friendly as well

You did say it was only “slightly” tongue in cheek OP. Also love the passive-aggressive “very sensitive souls” comment! - I guess you got the argument you wanted though!

most bars allow children before 7pm.

I am childfree and this has driven me out of most public spaces over the last 20 years. Even museums and galleries are playgrounds now

I’m so sorry autumn, but what a sad way to live your life. Seriously, “driven out“ by families? And you think playgrounds should be child-free also?

autumnrose I'm sure your friends with children feel really great about being excluded from your 'adult only' gatherings.

I had a friend do this when I had DS and it made me feel utterly shit. Needless to say we're not really friends anymore.

I am capable of understanding that children might not be welcome at certain events so it's really mean to exclude someone just because they have kids and might end up with childcare issues.

Sunday mornings were always the worst for a lovely toddler. DS would wake at 5.30am and be climbing the walls by 6.30am. All the usual child based activities don't open till 10am on a Sunday, so in the winter it was a nightmare. We couldn't just go to the park. Our local sports village had swimming on from 6am in a Sunday and their coffee shop was a godsend. Not sorry.

Yabu. You should go to a pub to be child free.

A number of people don't like dogs in cafes , I don't like loud children and indulging parents.

There is a big difference between a dog in a cafe and a child. If you don't like dogs you don't go to a cafe that welcomes dogs, of which there are few. All cafes welcome children because, guess what, they are people too and have as much right to be there as you do.

I don't like people who come on Mumsnet and whinge about children as it spoils my Sunday morning yet here you are.

AutumnRose1 out of interest where do you think it IS acceptable to take children then?

If you hate children so much,why have them?