Babies not allowed in bars/pubs?

[ChampagneLassie]

Out with newborn in pram this afternoon and tried to go for a drink at a bar with a big outdoor terrace. Was denied entry as, under 18s not allowed. The man was apologetic but adamant that this applied to sleeping babies in prams. It felt particularly ridicouks as this was bar was right on high street with tables basically lining pavement.
I can understand children not allowed but would that really extend to babies in prams? Are council licensing that officus?

This is always trotted out on mumsnet. I reality you always see babies in beer gardens round here (Peak District, so not 'out out' city bars) and they cause no issues at all. Famiies buying meals are big business round here

It's the same here (Lake District), but you can understand why.

Up here you get tons of holiday makers plus families out for the weekend - turning children away would mean they lost 90% of their business in the summer.

But that's not the case in towns and cities where there are tons of other options and they can afford to be more selective.

Who'd have thought the rules applied to you as well?

Surely you're allowed to decide which rules apply to you and from what time, etc.

@slashlover

i just decided because it’s part of the room in general I’m allowed to sit, and logically if no one is drinking and tv isn’t on as it’s 9am and for the membership fees paid etc I can’t see why taking initiative would be a problem. Maybe they should put comfy sofas in another bit too 😊

plus about 3/4 members of staff said good morning so clearly didn’t mind!

I hate these rules. I think children should be welcome; they improve the atmosphere, in my opinion.

Until 1982 it was legal (and commonplace) not to allow women in pubs either. Lots of people thought single women would destroy the lovely manly atmosphere.

Where I'm from, kids/babies are allowed in most bars and pubs until a certain time. I think because they all sell food. My little one has been to pretty much all the pubs in our town in her short life!

I hope you found somewhere else to go

Yeah, stupid miserable lady thinking that she was going to be able to get away from other people's kids for a bit. Didn't she realise that you have rights?!

Loads of pubs let kids in, just find somewhere else. Sorted.

I like how you completely ignoring the rules because you wanted a comfortable seat is called "taking the initiative."

If you’re the sort who needs the atmosphere ‘improved’, take yourself off to a family pub?
A crowded, noisy bar full of of people shouting at matches is no place for a child!

There’s also the very real danger of children getting hurt thanks to the sheer number of irresponsible parents letting their little darlings run loose.

Yeah, stupid miserable lady thinking that she was going to be able to get away from other people's kids for a bit. Didn't she realise that you have rights?!

it’s in a family sports club. If I had been “out of the bar”
I would have been sitting opposite where I was in the same room but on a less comfortable seat. The rule makes 0 sense because the bar area is in one large room where children are also allowed!

@slashlover

it doesn’t make any sense to not have children in the bar area of a large room they are allowed in anyway at 9am. When there is alcohol served and tv is on ? Sure.

9am when it’s breakfast time? No. And if they want to do that then I won’t pay membership for my children until they put comfy sofas opposite the bar 😃

Anyway my issue was the passive aggressive nature of the woman. If she wanted to say something she was more than welcome
to
come over and say something, or complain to management

I think it's fair enough. If I went to a bar that was specifically for over 18s I'd be pissed off if a baby came in and started screaming.

There are plenty of pubs and restaurants that allow families, just go elsewhere.

Go to a child friendly pub then 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't know of anywhere near us that doesn't allow children before 7pm. A couple of big ones have specific areas that are just for adults, which is great for everyone. Just find a different pub, they might be new and not yet have a license that includes under 18.

But your baby is under 18. Doesn't seem ridiculous to me at all.

You're correct, your need for a comfy sofa is more important than someone who sat in the bar area because they didn't want to sit right next to kids.

It's a bit different, for a couple of reasons. One being that some people sit drinking all day letting their bored kids run riot - that doesn't improve the atmosphere at all. Another is some people get drunk and lairy, I don't particularly want my child around that. If I take DS to a pub we go for a meal at a family based one.

You're correct, your need for a comfy sofa is more important than someone who sat in the bar area because they didn't want to sit right next to kids

fully agree

Nobody is saying women with babies ‘can’t take part in adult society.‘ They’re just saying nobody (whether a man or a woman) can bring their child into a place whose policy is that only those 18 and over can enter. Whether you think your baby ‘shouldn’t count’ because they’re x age, or you were ‘so looking forward to a drink in the sun.’ It doesn’t matter.

If a woman is so totally desperate to sit at this particular venue and sip a drink in the sun she can leave her baby with a paid babysitter or the man who fathered it and do so. Or find a venue that allows children.

I will say I don’t drink though so don’t see the allure of sitting with a baby in a pub. If we go to a pub it’s a spoons type pub for a meal then we leave. But I can see why pubs don’t allow kids.

That's very entitled!

That's the rules. They probably won't have a baby change facility either.

Find a pub that sells food, buy the kid a bowl of chips and your sorted.

YANBU to expect the pub to let you in with a baby- most do these days, unless you're in Scotland?

In Scotland you need to apply for a special licence to have children in the pub, and many don't bother, meaning the pub is strictly 18+.

In England and Wales, the most pubs are licenced to let children in. Social attitudes have changed and with them licensing laws (not that you'd know it from this thread ) although many pubs do still have older licenses that don't allow for children. Then there are also the landlord who simply don't want children in the pub, so it's best to check, but bit unreasonable to expect babies to be let in.

The law says that children under 16 can go in pubs, they must accompanied by an adult if it's a venue that primarily serves alcohol, and it's illegal to have them there between midnight and 5am.

In practice a lot of pubs will ask children to leave at 7pm or 8pm although lots will make an exception for a babe in arms especially if you're there having a meal.

I spent a lot of time with my ante natal class friends, hanging out in a local pub in the daytime as it was a lovely space - large comfy sofas, huge windows you could watch the world go by in, nice food, great baby changing facilities in the toilets. In the weekday daytimes, when we'd meet there, we often were the only group of paying customers and the pub were very welcoming.

It once occured to me that only a few generations ago, women wouldn't have been allowed in the pubs at all, as a rule, and I imagined grumpy old men saying "you can't let the women in, next thing they'll be wanting to bring their babies with them!" And then look around at all of us there with our babies and prams, taking over a while section of the pub smile. Progress

AIBU is full of people who like to have a go at the OP, especially if they can pick at you for breaking a rule.

But out here in the real world it's perfectly normal to go to the pub with your baby. Heck, I had my eldest's first birthday in our local!

Try posting in your local Facebook group to ask which pubs will allow babies in.

Sounds like a good pub to me; I don’t want to be amongst screaming noisy kids when I’m out for a drink. Not everything has to be child friendly