To find it odd to bring a toddler to the pub in the evening?

[SaIIy]

I met up with a friend after work today. She asked me to meet her in a pub. I was quite shocked to see her two year old DS asleep in his pram with pyjamas on. I spoke to my friends friend who also joined us and she said DS joins them most evenings. (Was also slightly taken aback that my friend apparently goes to the pub most evenings.)

I’m not a parent but this seemed really odd to me? A loud pub in the city centre for a young child most evenings? I suppose the DC was sound asleep but still… His posture also looked wrong, DC looked way too big for the pram.

Lol every night. Yes it is weird. But some families do it I think so perhaps she was brought up like that.

His posture look wrong?? Oh to be child free again, and so stupid and judgy.

It’s ok if you’re on holiday, wedding reception, wake. If not, it’s quite shit. But I personally find it very difficult to believe a two year old would be capable of doing this night after night as you’ve described. ‘Fast asleep’ in a noisy pub and crammed into a pram (buggy…?)

In Italy or Spain it would be quite normal. In Britain many people seem to think children should be seen and not heard. I suppose it depends on the type of pub whether I would take them.

It can't have been particularly late, as most pubs (politely) ask you to leave after a certain time with DCs. It's usually 8-ish from memory. I know this because we took DD1 a few times PJ-ed up and wrapped up fast asleep in her buggy when she was a small BF baby (obviously we weren't getting battered with her there, just catching up with friends in a beer garden for birthdays). As long as the mother wasn't busy getting shitfaced and the pub wasn't rammed with heavily drunk people, I don't see the issue TBH.

The bad posture thing made me laugh though - DCs love to contort themselves into all kinds of strange shapes when they sleep IME. Nothing to do with a buggy which will have been specifically designed for DCs to sit/sleep in for potentially long periods of time! You seem to be looking for reasons to judge her.

In my younger days (years ago LOL) when I worked in pubs I was always amazed at the amount of people who used to sit in the family room night after night getting pissed while their kids caused havoc

The family room always had a smoky haze in it too, unlike the lounge and bar which were always fine

Small children should be tucked up asleep in their own bed at home at night not hawked round noisy pubs. Poor kid x

Sounds amazing, wish mine would fall asleep in a pub/cafe/restaurant etc. I would worry about sleeping positions, you want to see the weird and wonderful ways mine sleep when in a large cot to themselves!! Are you possibly a bit jealous your friend can afford to eat out so often?

She's a mum with a young kid, if you want to spend time with her surely you should expect her DS to be along for the ride? You can't really have it both ways. Good for her if she's managing being a mum and keeping her social life going. Sounds like the baby was asleep so must have been fairly content, so I don't see why you have a problem. I think your comment about his posture is just grasping at straws to be judgey.

Georgeskitchen · Today 07:58
Small children should be tucked up asleep in their own bed at home at night not hawked round noisy pubs. Poor kid“

if it’s a regular thing, this ^

Yeah every night, that’s not right

It would be normal for a family to go for a walk or a meal and take the child, yes.
Sitting drinking in a pub, no.

It’s fine every now and then and it’s good for kids to learn to sleep in different environments. Every night is not good though and I’m not quite sure why people are brushing off this part. A child does need to have a bedtime and be tucked up in bed at least some of the time.

It’s not at all because of that. It’s because it’s not a suitable environment for a child.

If it is regularly then yes, that's not right for a little one. I also think they should be tucked up in their own bed at home.

Every now and then not so bad.

You are getting a lot of criticism here. I agree with you if this is a regular occurrence. Sleeping in a pushchair in a noisy environment is not a good idea regularly. Every now and then is fine. I can fall asleep in the car but I wouldn't want to start my night like that every night. However there is not really anything you can do about it.

As an occasional thing, sure. Regularly for a child of that age, no. Maybe a tiny baby sleeping flat in a pram.

As a one off, fine. Every night, not fine.

I've spent quite a lot of time in Spain over the years. In a restaurant or taking a walk along the promenade late at night, yep there's usually loads of families with babies and toddlers.

Sitting drinking inside a noisy pub, none. Aside from the odd British tourist, anyway.

If I could have got away with this when DC was younger, I would definitely have done it occasionally! Now of course, DC is at the age where they wouldn't sleep but would want to be sitting up on a bar stool at the bar, annoying chatting to the bar staff so it would be an absolute no go.

I think it's fine for holidays or the occasional evening out but every night seems weird to me. I went out a lot when mine was a tiny baby snoozing in a bassinet, but when they got to around a year old, they slept much better at home in their cot.

What I wouldn’t have given for a child I could take to the pub! Sadly DD screamed like clockwork from 5pm to 9pm every evening, and when she grew out of that, she’d only sleep in a pitch-dark room in a cot; never a pram.

It’s hardly a bad atmosphere for a child if they’re asleep.

Probably because 'every night' is as accurate as when my DCs tell me that 'everyone has a Nintendo Switch', and in a few years will be telling me 'everyone else is allowed free and unmonitored access use of their mobile phone'. It is likely to be something of an exaggeration. Also, given it is an after work meet up, presumably this isn't late night we're talking about here. It is perfectly possible to meet at 5/5.30 for a catch up and still have the child in bed for 7.30, especially if you've had the foresight to PJ them beforehand.

What time was this? Was it a family friendly pub? It's not perfect parenting but I can't get too upset as child was happily asleep.

What time was this? And is it a family pub? Because personally I think it's bloody awful to take a kid to a pub, but on the other hand we've been out with my grandkids as babies for food in a family pub at 7pm but occasionally.

😢