Did anyone else's parents leave them outside the pub?

[Itswaytoohot]

They were just talking about this on TV and it reminded me. Growing up in the 80s and early 90s most pubs didn't allow children.

Sometimes my parents would take us anyway and leave us outside with crisps and pop, either in the car park or beer garden. If we got bored we were just told to go away and play.

I also remember being sneaked into the pub once and the landlord coming and telling my parents we had to leave.

Did anyone else's parents ever do this? It wouldn't be acceptable now.

Feel free to add any other things your parents did that would be frowned upon now. Intended to be lighthearted.

Yes this was standard for us in the 80's. The landlord would allow us into the lounge on Christmas day and give us a satsuma each but otherwise it was outside with a bottle of lemonade and a bag of crisps.

Absolutely normal in 70s, we used to get left in the car (if it was cold) or outside if it was warm.

Yes in the 1970s, myself, siblings and cousins would be plonked in the beer garden with a packet of Smiths crisps and a bottle of Vimto with a straw and left to it. An adult would periodically pop out from the pub to check on us. If the weather was bad we'd be left outside in the car.

Yes in the 60s. Had a lemonade in bottle with a straw, and a bag of plain crisps....I was quite happy with my book. I'd say I was 5 when they started this

I was never, ever, left outside a pub (I'm 63). My parents didn't go out without us (4 of us). My own sons (41 and 38) were never left outside a pub or anywhere else.

From memory it was pretty normal to see a bundle of kids sitting or playing alone in the pub garden when I was a kid, so guessing a lot of parents did. To be honest, is it much different to letting your DC play out of your sight in a large park or adventure playground? (Or does that not happen either nowadays??)

My parents always sat out in the pub garden with us, but I suspect that was more because they hated being around cigarette smoke in the days smoking was allowed indoors.

Yep. As PP have said, it was standard. Packet of crisps and a bottle of pop, coming out every now & again to check on you.

Yeah, it was brilliant😂 packet of cheese and onion crisps and a bottle of pop, sorted!

Yup.

A bottle of coke if we were lucky

Another yes. Quite commonplace I think. 70's.

We were only ever taken to the pub during the summer when we could all sit outside, and tbh it was rare (usually family get togethers). I remember not being allowed into the pub and loitering by the doors! And I’m only 33.

I don’t know if the rules in Scotland are different (we’re English) but we were in Edinburgh a few weeks back and were told on two occasions that we couldn’t enter a pub with our (sleeping) toddler DD due to their licensing laws, and once that we could come in but we had to order food as we had kids with us. We often go for a long walk, let her fall asleep in the pram and nip into the local for a pint on the weekend, so I was surprised that things were so strict north of the border!

Yes.
We didn't go on holiday much when we were kids, my dad would take random days off work and we've have a family outing.

One of us (2 parents, 4 kids) would be sat unrestrained in the boot of the car with the dog. Dad always drove there, and partway back. Because they would find a pub, specifically without a beer garden usually so they could have half an hour's peace from us!

It was a bottle of coke and a bag of crisps in the car, or we'd go off and play somewhere. Strangely, they always took the dog in with them!

Yes in the 70s. If we were out and parents stopped at a pub I was more than happy with a book, crisps and bottle of coke, in the car. With a soggy paper straw lol

Yes, unless there was a family room and at the age of 10 I knew which pubs in most of Kent had family rooms and which didn't. The Biddenden Bull was always the best as it had a chocolate dispensing machine and bar billiards that we used to play with - no idea how you actually played it of course.

We were never left in the car, but definitely plonked outside with a bottle of coke and a bag of crisps. 1970s. Checked on periodically. In the morning, we would go back and look for loose change anyone had dropped. Quite lucrative, at times.

Absolutely! A massive treat (rare) and it meant a bottle of pop and crisps - things which weren’t dishes out daily/weekly in the 70s.

Yup, late 80s Yorkshire and left in a pub yard with a ‘splash’ of coke and a bag of crisps. I used to take a book and sit on the back wall of the yard - which backed directly onto a canal. I’ve been back there as an adult - it was about a 10 foot drop into the canal at least! :0

Yup with a bottle of coke and a pack of Golder Wonder or Smiths Salt n Shake crisps

We had a street party for the Queen's Jubilee in 1977, then the parents went to the pub across the road and carried on drinking. All the kids on our part of the estate were outside it - must've been more than 20 of us.

Late 80s - left to sleep in the car as a toddler, with it parked beneath the window of the pub with my parents on the other side keeping and eye. Occasionally landlady would take me upstairs to watch TV. I also got left at a pub once, each parent thought I’d gone in someone else’s car. They came back to find me drinking squash with the doorman. Funnily enough my much younger siblings didn’t have the same experience - rules must have tightened up or my parents’ wised up by the mid-90s!

Early 80s when I was a baby/toddler, dad used to tell mum he was taking me out on the bike… then cycle to the pub! He plonked me on top of the juke box apparently. Kept putting the coins in, Shakin stevens on repeat. Mum only found out years later

Yes left in the car with a nasty warm orange juice mixer in a bottle and a bag of cheese and onion with my sister.

It made me very intrigued and excited by what it was like to go into the verboten pub!

Yes in the 60s/70s with a glass of pop and a packet of crisps. Usually playing with the other kids in the garden!

Yep

Our local used to be a canal side pub. We were regularly left to play on the banks whilst parents were indoors