Children in Pubs

[MaryJenson]

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

Drives me mental!

Our local has an astro turf garden with about 6 little painted beach hut type things for people to drink in. But one has a telly and they put kids TV on all day. Also has table tennis and fußball tables. At 8 pm they turn it off and gently ask people with kids to leave. Its the right mix of family friendly and just grown up friendly.

LisaSimpsonsbff
Nobody has said all foreign children are perfect.
I have said that there's different expectations on how children conduct themselves overseas in my experience. In my time travelling I've not seen the same sort of everywhere is a playground, play loud music or cartoons on tablets loud rather than use headphones (you know basic courtesy that many people in the UK have).
Sadly when people lament how 'anti children' the UK is what they usually mean is "people in the UK have an issue with children being badly behaved". They're often the types who if someone has an issue with excessively rude noise will say 'oh so NOBODY should even speak to their child. I'm glad your perfect.' Or, if someone mentions that it's actually really fucking rude to let your kid watch Peppa pig on loud in a restaurant or cafe will say "go to a library if you want silence. They're just children" or claim you're a total snob against all forms of technology when the reality is wishing people would use headphones and not be rude.

I'd place bets that those who think it is anti children to say pubs should be for adults after 7pm aren't the ones with well behaved children either because people with well mannered and well behaved children tend to also understand that not everything is for children.

I'm in the pub right now with my 2 year old and she's sitting quietly playing with her dolly.

It's the older kids that are running riot.

That's cool grand.
I personally couldn't care less about well behaved kids. I can't stand the everywhere is a playground mentality.

I think my old local has it right. They have a lounge/food area where children are welcome and them a bar room that's adult only. The main service bar runs between the two. It works well and the landlord takes no nonsense with telling people to keep their kids under control.

It’s a concept I find hard to get my head round, but I’m in Scotland and the laws/culture are different. Pubs are not a place for children here.

Our pub used to be child free. A new chain took it over and kids are now allowed till 9pm. They are trying to push the food, but it is more a drinking pub. I now never go before 9pm, and their profits are down - not just because of me though!.

And my now favourite pub is one that only allows well behaved children of regulars - basically as a favour. Where I live new pubs are opening all the time and most are not family friendly.

I like the Scottish licensing laws personally. Whilst in Edinburgh we stopped for lunch and were refused drinks outside with lunch as we had a 9 year old with us. I saw people wheeling prams into Wetherspoons the other Saturday morning.

YANBU

Where I live no kids are allowed in any of the pubs - bliss

Sports tvs in pubs - drives me mental, but if I don't like it I can find a different pub, which I do.

I'm in Scotland as well.

Ok pre 7ish, but after that I agree unless they are having a meal. Also really unfair on young children as sone parents just ignore them whilst they drink. In the summer, if there is a beer garden for them to run around and enjoy I don't have such a strict cut off time....

It’ll not be a pub then, strictly speaking GTW? It’ll be a restaurant that serves alcohol rather than a pub that serves food. (Unless licensing varies from Council to Council? Maybe it does? I’ve only ever lived here and in Edinburgh, neither of which allows children in pubs)

I saw people wheeling prams into Wetherspoons the other Saturday morning.

Probably for breakfast? We take DS to Spoons for breakfast after church every Sunday. It's full of other families with young children. They have a children's menu. Obviously I wouldn't take him on a Friday night, but what's wrong with going on a Sunday morning?

This wasn’t after Church. There have been instances of lorry drivers stopping and getting out of vehicles in Holloway Road because toddlers are about to get run over. Parents were drinking in the weatherspoons.

It's a wetherspoons so a proper pub. I'm South Lanarkshire council area so maybe different?

However I've been in wetherspoons in Glasgow and 1 wanted us all to have a meal so we could drink and the other didn't mind.

It's not like I wear a badge that says 'I'm a responsible parent who goes to church', though, is it - and you don't know anything about the parents you saw wheeling prams into wetherspoons either.

I agree and perhaps I’m being a little judgmental. I don’t like seeing youngsters outside pubs, or in them for any length of time, perhaps because I have memories of waiting for hours with a packet of crisps and a drink whilst adults got pissed.

Another who doesn't mind well behaved children, on the other hand I want to kick all parents who let their kids run amok out of the bar.

I don't really think it's very nice to have a kid in the pub all day or all evening either - it's inevitably a bit boring for them. I have to say I very rarely see that near me, though (the only time I see families spending long periods in pubs are in the summer while the kids run around the beer garden, which seems fine to me). But I can't see the difference between taking them to a pub for breakfast/lunch/a single drink and doing the same thing in a cafe.

I don't go to pubs now but I used to love the traditional real ale pubs, I wouldn't like to find noisy children in one TBH.

Oh come off it, there's a big difference between walking past them in the street and having their dreadful screeching inflicted on you when you're trying to have a quiet drink. Some people are not automatically enamoured by children and that's OK.

My kids always behaved in pubs as do my grandchildren now. However iv seen so called adults in pubs acting like knobheads during the day. The U.K. is so child unfriendly.