Children running round Wetherspoons

[AleFailTrail]

AIBU to think the Spoons isn’t a family pub in the vein of hungry horse etc. And that if your child sprints in to someone carrying a pint or two, causing them to fall and spill said pints, you should at the least apologise to the person and replace the drinks, rather than scoop up a beer soaked kid and walk off. Or when they pull a menu board down strand it back up and tell the child off, not reassure them it’s okay and the staff will sort it? There’s no play areas and the pub is very, very full right now.

-A very beer soaked RailAleFail who is mourning a pint of porter and her boyfriend’s cider

We aren't talking about people sitting with kids in back street boozers or cocktail bars, but going for meals with their families.

I don't see why people are so twattish about it in all honesty there are still plenty of places you can go just for alcohol.

I used to go for meals in pubs as a kid too.

And we used to play in the beer gardens

PhilomenaButterfly that’s very different though, surely. I went to outdoor festivals, beer gardens and stuff as a kid. It’s good for kids to be outdoors - how does that compare to sitting in a local?

"Alles you must be really old."

(how not to make 'mumsnet friends' )

Deafly I was pondering how old someone would need to be not to be familiar with the concept of children in pubs. 😂

Alles when we go to a Wetherspoons, we get the children's menus and crayons, we're usually with adults they've known since they were babies who chat with them, we eat (usually supper), then go home as DD still likes an hour to relax before bed.

We mostly go because that's where our local branch of the Tolkien Society meets.

Which part of my post was unclear, Philomena Butterfly? At no point did I say I was ‘unfamiliar with the concept’ of kids in pubs? I said I didn’t understand it.

DeaflySilence yes, I’m sure she’s a delight! 😂

Does my last post make it any clearer Alles? People have a myriad reasons why they take their DC to pubs. My DC look forward to it because they love the food. DS2 always has fish and chips, DD now eats from the adult menu as she's 11 and eats as much as me.

Family-friendly as applied to a pub or restaurant doesn't mean kids should be allowed to run around causing havoc. I thought it meant that children were welcome, high-chairs available, suitable menu, things for them to do etc. Some parents seem to think it means they can let their children run amok.

And yes, if a child runs into someone and spills their drink, the parent apologize and pay for replacement drinks.

Snob was originally the name for a person who made shoes.

PhilomenaButterfly okay, I take that point as it sounds as though your kids are a little older. Can you honestly say though that there hasn’t been a time when they’ve been thoroughly bored and would rather be exploring a park?

They have a kids menu therefore it is a family pub.
Yes kids running mad are really annoying. My kids have never done that as they knew I’d kick their arses but you do come across as a snob. If you don’t want kids around , go to a wine bar or smaller pub, not a cheap boozer

I love Wetherspoons for their breakfasts.

If my children go with me, I am firm they stay in their seat unless they need to go to the toilet. And then it’s walk only. No running

To be fair, our local isn’t too bad.

Apart from kids being noisy, I haven’t seen any really running around

I can remember 13/14 yrs ago when my son was small, my local Wetherspoons had a section that you used if you had children with you.

Alles they're 11 and 7 and DS2 has ADHD. We've been going since DD was a baby.

No Alles, because they've always looked forward to it. We leave after we finish eating, as I said. We don't sit and get ratarsed. I get to enjoy a pint of guest ale or cider with my meal.

@Pk37 didn’t mean to come across as snobby, I love the local spoons (if you’d read my PP you’d understand why alternatives aren’t an option). I eat there a lot, don’t go to get drunk. One or two with a meal is all I need.

I was just very pissed off, soaked in porter and magners and upset that the parent of said child whisked it away without so much as an apology for her tripping me. Then told me off for being mad the child was going into my handbag!

Wetherspoons have always been quite strict about kids only bring allowed in if people are having a meal. My local had a limit on how long you could stay after food if you had kids with you, which I think is really fair.
It sounds like the ops local dealt with it well.

@Theimpossiblegirl

That's always been my experience, you can come in with your children for a meal but you get, in effect, 'drinking up time' once you're finished.

Wetherspoon's themselves vary immensely from dark, dingy drinking dens (my personal favourite) to bright, modern places.

I don't take issue with children being in these places. I do take issue with the 'it's a family friendly place therefore everyone who disapproves of my child's inappropriate behaviour needs to suck it up' attitudes. 'Family friendly' means they are accepting of people with children and make provisions as such. It doesn't mean that running around, loud shrieking and disturbing other's enjoyment is acceptable.*

*Neither is allowing your child to stand at the fruit machine for ten minutes needlessly bashing the buttons. Seems like a very specific annoyance but it seems to be an epidemic!

YANBU, op. Can't bear 'My Child Can Do No Wrong' parenting! Just out of interest, what is chocolate porter? Sounds delicious!

I have to say I don't really understand the noise issue. Of course children shouldn't be running around and full on screaming or tantrums are definitely not ok but don't all children make a bit of noise? It's not like they're the only ones too... larger groups of people all chatting will always make a fair amount of noise. There's always clanking behind the bar. Also what about disabled people who may be noisier, do people think they shouldn't be able to go out to eat?

@Raspberry88

I don't think anyone expects children to sit in silence (well, there may be one or two). Chatting, laughing etc when sat with their families is part of going for a meal. Shrieking, making incessant repetitive noise, shouting, singing etc. isn't acceptable from adults or children in a pub or restaurant though.

If we are to teach our children how to behave in public then surely we have to hold them to the same standards we expect from other adults.

Yes, children's shrieks and yells have a way of penetrating everything background noise in a pub, even a busy one, is usually pretty uniform and easy to filter out :)

@Watcherintherye it’s a beer, usually porter or stout, which has chocolate added in the brewing process. Yet vary from a subtle hint to fill on boozy milkshake flavours. If you like darker beers they are great.

I’m also partial to coffee porters and stout, and two brothers do a mocha one. Yum

In case anyone was interested , just got back from the weekly pizza at spoons. Manager was there when I got in, asked if I had cleaning costs for my coat and offered the equivalent off the bill. So apologetic. I passed on how good the ram had been on Sunday and he said he would ensure they were rewarded somehow. Also told me the staff had passed in that the family were barred...which had gone down well on Tuesday apparently :D. Love my local Spoonies