AIBU to go to the pub 30 metres away with a video monitor.

[HoveDad]

I live in a terrace of houses and ten doors down is a really nice pub that does great food. Would it be horribly irresponsible to leave the kids (8,4 and 2) home alone with a video (+audio) monitor watching the doors to the bedrooms, toilet and hallway? One of us could be home within one minute of seeing / hearing a child but in the mean time we could be sat having a couple of pints and a tasty meal with friends with a laptop/ipad on the table showing what's going on in the house.
I suspect this isn't ok and haven't suggested it to my wife yet but wanted to canvas opinions. You could get the kit to do this for ~ £100 which is what 4 baby sits would cost.

[SlimFitWellies]

Besides, isn't it illegal or something to leave kids under the age of 10 home alone? [unsure]

[SlimFitWellies]

Oh, yes and what Vingear just said.

[Badvoc]

I think the general canvass of opinion is that you are a twat.
HTH
:)

[HoveDad]

Wow, some pretty strong opinions here!
All the kids would be asleep and they all consistently sleep through.
It wouldn't be a case of leaving the 8yr old in charge, if there were any noises or movement one of us would dash home from the pub and be there in 90 seconds.
We've got smoke alarms that we would hear over a monitor.
I'm surprised how united everyone is against this idea.

[isitsnowingyet]

[no comment]

[isitsnowingyet]

Sorry - I meant to say

[fanjoforthemammaries7850]

Ask your local Social Work department what they think of the idea.

[Sirzy]

By the time you have heard the smoke alarm, registered that is what the noise is, ran home and managed to unlock the house can you really be sure they will all be safe?

Is it worth the risk for the same on a meal out?

[OurPlanetNeptune]

Dear God. Why? Threads like this remind me how lucky I am to be married to a sensible man. This would never enter his head to do.

[Trapper]

Assuming they will all be fast asleep (8yo is not actually in charge of two siblings running around) then this sounds like a great idea in theory.
In practice however, it will probably not work.
1: You would need three cameras - one for each and the ability to switch between them. This set up would presumably cost more.
2: You would be reliant on the bandwidth of wifi at the pub: if this is flakey you will need to abandon your meal and go home.
3: You and your wife will be paranoid for the whole evening and will not end up enjoying yourselves.
4: if one of the children wakes, one o you will be abandoned in the pub with two meals while the other is stuck at home - evening ruined.
5: Finally, of course there is the remote possibility of a tragic event leaving you forever wondering, 'what if I was closer/ in the house...?'.

[MissyMooandherBeaverofSteel]

Yes because kids never get sick or shout or have nightmares when they are sleeping. And how can you hear a child crying in a noisy pub?

Any parent who cares more about a night out in the pub than the welfare of their children is a disgrace (that means you OP)

[FannyPriceless]

To be fair to the OP, I think many of you have missed a really important point in his original post. This particular pub is "really nice" and does "great food".

Surely that should count for something!

Oh no, wait...

[BitOutOfPractice]

Hovedad I would take the fact that everyone is united against the idea as a 'no way should you do this' sign.

[Deadhamsterssmell]

I actualy know someone who did this. They then complained to the landlord that people were being too noisey and they couldn't hear their baby monitor! Both held highly responsible jobs as well.

We had a fire that started at night, by the time the smoke alarm went off the youngest DC needed hospital treatment for smoke inhalation (sp). We were in the house with them and got them out as fast as was possible. I can't imagine what would have happened if we had been down the road at the pub...

[InLoveWithDavidTennant]

please tell your wife your brilliant idea... then she can come on mn to tell us all about it and then we can all tell her to LTB!

[TantrumsAndBalloons]

If you can afford to pay all that money for equipment and go for a meal you can afford a babysitter FFS.

[BerryLellow]

YABU, and it's not legal. If it's so important that you have nice food in a nice pub, pay a fucking babysitter.

[FriendlyLadybird]

I have to admit that we used to live opposite a pub. On one occasion we took the baby monitor with us and had a drink sitting outside the pub on a lovely summer evening. DS slept through. It was lovely.

However, given that we lived on a teeny tiny Victorian back street, we were closer to him than we would have been had we been sitting in our back garden. And we only did it once. 30 metres away would have been way too far for me.

[Sugarice]

You are an idiot to think this could possibly be a good idea.

I hope your Wife tells you you were being a prat too!

[BitOutOfPractice]

I wish I lived that close to a pub

[Flobbadobs]

OP the night you do that will be the night sods law bites you on the arse. You will sit there with your great food, look at the monitor and see your 2 year old either dangling out of bed/the window or your 8 year old turning on the tv and watching something fascinatingly inappropriate that will give them nightmares and you earache and sleepless nights for months.
So not worth it. Still YABU, still silly.

[LippiPongstocking]

Get a fucking babysitter, FFS.