Restaurants should have a child free section

[Hdaniels11]

I keener old smoking/non smoking sections at restaurants. They should do the same thing with children/no children sections. I was at a testy with a few friends last night and the table next to mine had two screaming children. Another table had their 4 maybe 5 year old son stun up and down the aisle nearly knocking over the waitress with a tray full of drinks. We asked to move because it was just too noisy and disturbing, after that we had no more distractions and were actually able to converse with one another.

A lot of that reminds me of my sister, her husband believes in being the kids "friend" rather than the parent and says things like "boys will be boys" and "they are just getting their energy out" i just roll my eyes when he says that. NO it's a restaurant not a playground.

As a parent myself i actually think it's a good idea from the other side. It's embarrassing to have your child screaming and acting a fool in public, Around other parents you would at least get a little more empathy.

*sorry the first paragraph was meant to say i was at a restaurant with my friends last night

Wouldn't the noise from the children carry to the "child-free" section though?

There is always the option to ask to be seated in a quiet(er) area or to be seated away from children/other patrons. We always ask for a table in a quiet corner when we go out to eat (two autistic DC so it easier on them from a sensory point of view).

My kids are aged 1 and 2 - they’re relatively well behaved but still toddlers! I wouldn’t want to sit next to us in a restaurant! I think it’s a great idea

And kid free times in IKEA

It’s not a bad idea. If you’ve stumped up for a babysitter so you can have an in depth conversation, you’re less likely to find other people’s kids charming when they’re being noisy.

When people used to smoke in restaurants you could still smell cigarettes in the non smoking section. In the same way out of control kids and the noises they make are not going to be confined to a no kids section.

To avoid encountering children why not just eat at a time and place where they are unlikely to be.

And if I'm going out with just DH/other adults and no DC then we either choose a restaurant that doesn't have crayons on the table or a children menu so is unlikely to be full of families or we go at a later time when very young children aren't likely to be present (e.g., local foodie-pub doesn't allow children after 7pm).

YANBU, I have young kids and definitely agree other peoples children suck when eating out.

Unfortunately gone are the days where removing a disruptive child is the norm, I can remember being carried out many a restaurant as a child if I refused to behave.

Id like the choice to be surrounded by kids or not, and sometimes you can’t always rely on the setting being indicative of whether kids will be there or not. For example in a harvester I’d not moan as you expect kids there, at a more up market restaurant I’d like to see child free zones personally.

Same with planes!

I always ask to sit in a quiet area, and once to my aunt's mortification asked if we could be seated away from children.

I'd left mine at home for the day - I don't want others around me 🤣

So I say YANBU.

And parents should parent their children when eating in restaurants. Not let them run amok.

I just never see all these screaming kids in restaurants, running around knocking things over etc that seem to be so prevalent on MN.

I genuinely can’t say I’ve ever had a meal ruined by an out if control child and I typically eat out about 3/4 times a week.

The problem is not the child themselves but it's the parents who can't raise them properly and teach them how to behave in public.

With you all the way on this. I have no objection to children in restaurants if they behave, sadly they are allowed to go ape & the parents seem to think it’s the norm., never mind anyone else’s evening out.

I must be in the minority, but other people’s kids don’t bother me when out. I’m just glad it’s not mine! I have 7 kids, 3 under 5s, and I won’t take them to cafes and restaurants, because it’s too bloody stressful for me. If I go out to lunch I’ll do it child free, but other kids don’t bother me at all, I just think good on those parents being brave enough to take them lol

“We asked to move because it was just too noisy and disturbing, after that we had no more distractions and were actually able to converse with one another."

Sorry this just isn't on. I prefer to eat in silence, I don't want you chatting away noisily disturbing my peace. Perhaps they should have a separate section for people who want to chat... I suggest in the kids section 😉

Yes a 1 year old toddler is being a pain in a restaurant because the parents haven’t raised them right 🙄 how ridiculous. You can’t expect young kids, toddlers or babies to act like adults. Because they are not adults.

I don't think this would be practical, for several reasons. One being back when there was smoking and non smoking, if one section was full they would ask if you minded sitting in the other. You could still eat at the restaurant, just either had to inhale a bit of smoke, or go outside to smoke.

You can't sit children in the child free section so the restaurant would have to turn families away if the children's section was full. What business wants to turn away customers when they might have empty tables?

All it means is that it becomes unacceptable to complain about poorly behaved children because they’re in the children’s section. Children need to learn how to behave so they can be adults that don’t piss people off. I have a 3yo and a 5mo and I manage to keep them behaving in restaurants. I don’t see why I (or they) should have to put up with screaming/misbehaving children just because I have (well-behaved) children.

I completely agree.

We were out for dinner at about 8.30pm at the weekend, high end nice place, and there were 2 loud kids on the table next to us, one watching cartoons on an iPad with the sound on loud.

So annoying.

Same, to be honest, but I've not been to every restaurant in the UK so benefit of the doubt I suppose.

It's all about expectations. If you go to Pizza Hut on a Saturday afternoon or Toby Carvery on a Sunday lunchtime, you are going to encounter children/families and some of them are going to have parenting styles/rules that do not gel with your own. You can't really complain about the presence of children/families when going somewhere that they are highly likely to be.

On the other hand, if you go to a five star restaurant at 8pm on a Saturday night for the £££ tasting menu and there's some six year old off his face on Haribo smashing the place up and bellowing Baby Shark then you probably do have justification to not be very happy about it.

@Catapultaway 😁

OP, I can understand your frustration, but the hospitality industry has taken a lot of hard knocks in the last few years. You could argue that a child-free section would encourage more visits from those who want to dine without being near kids, but I think that would be difficult to evidence, and many dining places simply wouldn't be able to afford to create separate sections for this.

I think it depends on the type of restaurant and the time of day. If I was out for dinner with DH in the evening at a fancy grown up type restaurant I wouldn't be very happy with noisy kids causing havoc. However lunchtime in a pizza chain restaurant I wouldn't be bothered. DCs have been taken to restaurants since they were very little, they have never been allowed to run around or disturb people around us. Eating out is expensive and people deserve to enjoy it.

Great post.

I agree. DH, DCs and I eat out very regularly and I’ve encountered very few poorly behaved children.

I agree.

I go swimming a lot and there are family and adults only times. It works really well IMO. Sometimes I swim with my DC at family times and sometimes I swim alone. Swimming at the adults only time is a bit of a treat but it also works both ways because if I’m on my own swimming during family time I don’t mind the noise and chaos because I knew what time it was and it was my choice to swim at that time.

So if there are child and non child areas of a restaurant and no space in the non child section then you make your choice whether you want to put up with it or not.