AIBU to think Coronavirus is not an excuse to exclude children from public places?

[RoseGoldCloud]

B&Q have banned children from their stores due to Coronavirus. www.diy.com/customer-support#icamp=HP_Cat5_shopsafely
I get that people are scared in public places. I also agree that anyone not respecting the social distancing should be asked to leave. I don’t understand why they are excluding one particular group based solely on age. The rules should apply to everyone and anyone breaking it should have to leave. I have seen many children behaving really sensibly and I’ve also had numerous adults stand right next to me, refuse to follow the one way systems, touching baskets that have been disinfected and then putting them back. Why are the adults allowed to ignore the rules? But all the children get banned? What are single parents going to do if other shops start doing this? And what next? Are we going to ban other groups that are cared for? If we find out certain population groups are more prone to covid will we be banning them too? Are we going to ban children from all public places? Shops? Shopping centres? Town squares?

I recognise that people are scared but I think we really need to remember that we are fighting a virus not other people or certain groups of people.

So AIBU to think we shouldn’t ban people from a public place based on their age?

Totally agree, shops like B&Q are not supermarkets and can be very dangerous. Let alone the fact that children don't "need" to be there, and that they touch everything.
tbh I don't think kids should be in supermarkets either (but that only works if all the single parents can get delivery /click and collect slots).

If single parents take their children to a DIY store and have no one to mind them and they also don’t bother to control them then they will need to be called up on this by other customers or the staff. If they cannot control them then they shouldn’t be out and someone else should get what they need.

I cannot believe there is no one in the whole world who can do their essential shopping for them. The alternative is that this parent is allowed to do what they want and spread the disease.

I have children but pre-Covid-19 I didn't like the way some children are allowed to behave in shops and other public places....

eg's running around in DIY stores as it it was a play park

Being allowed to run around in restaurants rather than sit at the table and wait for food - seriously some parents have no standards at all

ASDA and b & q share the same car park where I am and last week lots of families queuing at B & Q many with two parents. ASDA queues were half the size.I feel it will be the same when garden centres open as those coming out mainly had gardening gear. But strangely when shopping children have not been my problem but couples who do both sides of the isle whilst discussing what they want leaving a row of shoppers behind as they make it unsafe to overtake.

Tbh I have to agree with them banning children after being run into numerous times the other day by two children wizzing around a tiny Sainsbury’s on those trainers with the wheels in the bottom. Honestly what are the parents thinking by allowing that?!

It’s a very slippery slope when places start to ban children...what about single parents? Also where is the cut off? No one under 16? Or no one under 18 now? A few 16 year olds I know are at college a couple of days a week and on placements the rest of the time and nip to b and q to pick up bits and pieces when needed either alone or with someone, so what happens now, either they wait outside feeling like a baby or they have to get someone else to go if they are alone. Again not on rule fits all.

It’s not a public space. It’s a private business, so they can do what they want and ban who they want. A person with no one to leave their dc with can book a delivery or boycott B&Q if they feel strongly enough. Other DIY places are available.

It’s really difficult for single parents but I think the general policy is right. I think under 16s is excessive and under 8s might be more sensible. The problem with small children is they are unpredictable. My 3 year old is normally sensible and good when out and about. A few weeks before lockdown I was out with her and she licked the checkout. She’d never done it before, she’d been as good as gold during the shop but she switched suddenly and did something impulsive and gross. I was mortified. While you think your child will never do something, all little ones have the potential to do something undesirable and I imagine the shops have seen lots of similar things.

They’re not banning children from pubs when they reopen because they need the money. You can have a family go and spend £50 on their tea in a pub or you can ban children and that family will stay at home.

Which do you think the pub owners and the economists would prefer?

@totallyfuckedupfamily did you miss the bit of my post where I said except for trade?!!

I’ve always thought children don’t belong in hardware stores, there is online delivery or click and collect so no reason to be.

Hopefully they’ll be excluded from pubs when they reopen

I’d love to see this too. I hate how drinking is normalised these days.

I always presumed it was a numbers thing, plus, generally, one adult will be quicker than adults with children.

"It’s hardly essential shopping is it?!"

Of course it is. If you need something to keep your house running and make repairs, but dont want a tradesman to do it? Like fixing your toilet, or taps, of a water leak.

Why do you want to take your kids to B&Q op?

Because children dont know boundaries, and if they come near you, they could pass covid on. Its not hard to understand really. A running toddler is just like a pet dog, you literally cannot control where it is going, if it's out of your reach.

For those saying single parents should use click and collect... How does that solve the child issue? You still have to go to the store to collect, queue like everyone else and take your child with you.

B&Q click and collect is brought out to the carpark, you don't need to go anywhere near the main queue

As a parent you're damned whatever you do. Dh was at work the other day and I needed to get something urgent (Tampax, I'd just come on) from the supermarket that I'd forgotten in the weekly shop. Loaded 3yo dd and 9yo ds into the car, drove to our nearest shop to check the size of the queue - people were going straight in and out and I only needed that one thing so knew I'd be quick. Ds is as exceptionally sensible and level headed boy. Took a calculated decision to leave them in the car, doors locked and windows slightly open. Thought it was better than dragging them around with me, complete with disapproving looks. When I returned to the car the car park attendant was there to tell me my eldest needed to be 14 to be left in the car alone and I shouldnt have left them. Clearly I should have done what everyone else now seems to be doing and taken the whole family in with me.

I think in many situations common sense has gone out the window. So much judgement around people just doing what they need to get by.

@TabbyMumz there is no scientific evidence that children pass Covid as I said above. This is the WHO view.

As a kid I would have been over the moon at this "ban" The hours I spent trailing after my Mum and Dad round the most boring shop on the planet.

It put me off DIY for life!

I hope this catches on. Imagine being able to go to a lovely cafe for lunch without some screaming toddler on the next table.

Imagine being able to go to a lovely cafe for lunch without some screaming toddler on the next table

Or a restaurant etc.

Can’t see it though as businesses will want customers. Maybe set days where no children are allowed could work. Some are very well behaved and parents ensure that they are it’s the one standing that run riot, make lots of noise etc and parents don’t deal with it as want there day/night out.

I think B&Q are quite right. If you have to visit B&Q for essential items, the last thing you want is some kid, who may be coughing or sneezing or just being a general nuisance, running up to you and banging into your trolley as they do. Keep kids out of DIY shops.

I am so glad we just missed this ban. I was the only person in Q the other day at B&Q with a child, though. I wonder why they brought the ban in at all. There was no kid problem at ours.

12yo DS was with me bc he was choosing a paint colour for his future room! The walls were damaged & grotty. I am using it as an office right now & thought if I repaint in here, he should choose the decour and a lightshade (since room had none). Video cons will be easier now.

I didn't trust buying online bc for seeing true colours, sizes and quality. I guess we will have too in future, though; I hope returns are easy.

there is no scientific evidence that children pass Covid as I said above

Uh, how are children biologically different to adults in a way that somehow makes them immune to spreading a virus?

Children are just small humans. They can pass viruses in the same way adults can.

@LEELULUMPKIN Ditto! There was nothing I hated more than being dragged around B&Q by my dad on a sunday afternoon, I'd loved to have been banned!