Children in Pubs

[MaryJenson]

On a Friday evening, hordes of them in the bar.

Drives me mental!

Well if I’m in the pub after 7, for whatever reason, I’m not going to leave just because I have my children with me we’ll just leave when we’re ready.

As others have said, pubs themselves don’t have an issue and those pubs that do will be sure to kick you out when they see fit

I don't mind children in a pub if they're sitting down and talking at a normal volume. I find it annoying if they are running round, shrieking loudly or banging on the table - just as I'd find it annoying if an adult was doing those things. There's a Harvester pub we sometimes go to that's always full of families, and the children generally just sit and eat their meals the same as anyone else, which is great.

This country is so anti-children. If the pubs are fine with children in there then you’ll have to put up with it or find somewhere adults only.

Children do need to know how to behave in places like that, this is a learned behaviour though so we can’t just keep them locked away. Obviously not too late at night. Contrast this with Spain/Greece where children are out with families, eating and socialising until late.

As long as the children are well behaved and the pubs allow it then I don’t see the problem..

This country is so anti-children

This nonsense often gets spouted on here, but the truth is that this country is becoming more and more child centric and the spaces for adults only becoming fewer and fewer.

I too have endured years of infertility with no success story at the end of it. Some days I don't want to be near children, yet it is so difficult to find those places.

I don’t take my DS to pubs. Just don’t like it

This fucks me off beyond belief (no I don't have children and no I don't like them). I've lost count of the times I've gone out for a cozy pub meal and a quiet conversation and had it completely ruined by someone else's screaming kid or seeing the dreaded high chair being dragged out of a corner.

It's a pub for fucks sake. There are people swearing, gambling machines, alcohol being served, people getting pissed, smoking areas outside. Then the dining section where people just want to eat in peace.

There are literally thousands of places people can take their children to. A good old fashioned pub (say after 5 or 6pm) should be for adults ONLY.

A few months ago DH and I were in our local for an earlyish evening drink. The pub has always allowed children until 7 but in the last couple of years families have stayed later and later. Anyway, it was about 8.00pm and DH was returning from the bar when a youngster ran in front of him causing her to fall and DH to stumble spilling the drinks. The child’s DM then shouted at DH for a) not looking where he was going ( untrue) and b) soaking the child with wine and beer !

I’ve only ever experienced this in shit pubs. In good pubs, it tends to be adults only after about 6. Find a better pub!

Go to a different pub then. All Bar One don't allow kids ever.

Obviously this pub has decided this is their market and people who want an adult experience are not.

I have nothing against kids in pubs.
What I thought was wrong was a family at a restaurant the other day letting their toddler wander about with them following 6 ft or so behind. The restaurant was busy and waiters were trying to carry hot food and drinks past the child.

I've never come across children in pubs on a Friday evening.

I love taking my children to the pub. And the baring of children from pubs was as much about baring women from pubs as it was children. Children exsist and they will be places, it's just life.
I hate sitting in a pub listening to other people's stupid opinions because they've drunk too much to keep their damn voice down or because they think they are so fascinating we all want to listen. But if I'm out around other people it's just one of the things i have to accept.
Mind you, my family are not British and i haven't grown up with that "Children should be seen and not heard" history that exsist in the UK which might be why I'm less bothered.

We don’t have a large selection of pubs to choose from.

I suppose we could go to the local children’s soft-play instead, perhaps take up all the comfy sofas and sit there swilling beer from bottle swearing our heads off.

All Bar One don't allow kids ever

Yes they do. Cut off at 8pm though.

And they shouldn't be allowed in any pubs after 7. There's no need for children to be in a pub.

Surely it depends on age, the type of pub and their behaviour.

We've often taken dd to our local pub for a meal, from being fairly young.
It's a local pub which serves food until about 8:30/9pm. DH rarely got home from work much before 7pm, even when dd was younger. We'd have never been able to go and eat int time with that rule. She was always quiet, sensible and sat down. Why should she not be allowed in somewhere local to eat with her family just because she was younger than the adults. We still go now, though she's a teen now though not yet 18.

All Bar One don't allow kids ever

Ours does. It didn't used to but has for the past couple of years or so at least.

sit there swilling beer from bottle swearing our heads off.

To be honest if that's how you behave loudly in a local pub I'd much rather have children there than that anyway.

It's a shame if you don't have much choice of pubs locally OP, just as it would be if you wanted somewhere family friendly and all you could get to was adult only old man joints. In both cases though, it's tough shit. You don't get to decide that businesses should prioritise your preferences over those of other clientele who are presumably more lucrative for them.

As for the soft play, if you can find one where the management think there's more money to be made by accommodating adults who want to sit drinking and enjoy the, erm, ambience, have at it. Actually, I've often thought soft plays are missing a trick by not having alcohol licences.

My local allows kids in until 9, has highchairs, babychange and kids menu. People who have a problem can drink elsewhere - plenty of other pubs in our village that don't allow children.

My local pub allows kids in till 9pm. It used to be until closing but they changed the rules.

I hate it when they are not allowed - they are people too. But I don't like ours out too late so looking at it from both sides a reasonable limit (like 9pm latest) would be fair.

They are people too

So should they be allowed in betting shops, nightclubs and casinos as well?

There are plenty of adult only pubs. I can think of three in our town.

Sorry for those with fertility issues but what do you do abroad where it is far more family friendly? You can’t just avoid children. I agree, running around and screaming is unacceptable.

I don’t want to sit in a bloody soft play! I have a well behaved 8 and 9 year old and we like to eat out together. That may be a restaurant or a pub. We’ll respect the rules and leave well before 9pm

If the children are being well-behaved and enjoying themselves then I don't see the issue. The thing that annoys me is when the kids are clearly bored/exhausted and the parents just carry on until god knows what time.

Our local pub on a Friday night is really a creche facility with a bar attached. It's horrendous - there are a lot of entitled parents who block the passage ways and general space with huge buggies and seem to think they have no obligation to temper their offspring in any way. Hence kids screaming, running around, getting underfoot of people carrying drinks - standing on furniture with their shoes on. We have raised this with the management who probably don't care as long as custom and money is flowing in, so we boycott the establishment now. Would it really be so bad if a 'no children after 6pm ' rule was put in place?