To wish for an adults only pub?

[Floofydawg]

I mean, when did it become acceptable Saturday afternoon entertainment for small children to take them to the pub?

Walked into our local yesterday to what appeared to be a badly run nursery. One small child with iPad on, sound up. Large group of adults ignoring child, who is clearly bored. Starts crying loudly and mother/auntie decides to imitate child and pretend cry, very loudly.

Another group with four small children making a ridiculous amount of noise, so much so that the bar staff had to have a word with them as she couldn't hear to answer the phone. We were struggling to have a conversation.

Is it too much to ask for a quiet pint in a pub without having to listen to screeching kids?

I was dragged to pubs in the 80’s. A bottle of pop and a bag of crisps, thrown into the pub garden to play. How did we ever survive?

Awww, I like to see dogs in a pub. And it's a great place for socialising puppies.

We clearly need 3 or 4 categories of pub: no kids & no dogs, kids allowed but not dogs, dogs allowed but not kids and pubs that welcome anything on 2 legs or 4.

My nearest pub allows kids in the back bar (formerly "saloon bar") but not in the front bar. That works well imo, but with the trend in recent years to "open up" pubs, not all pubs have more than one bar and if they've gone all open plan they don't really have that option.

I'm all for childless but dog friendly pubs. Saves me having to protect my dog from a snotty toddler trying to poke him in the eye.

When I was a kid they weren't allowed inside, and were only allowed in pub gardens. or in a games room as long as it didn't have a bar in it.

I don't recall seeing kids in pubs when I was in my teens/early 20s either, so I think the law may have changed around 1980. I stayed in a hotel near Bath in 1978, and children were allowed in the restaurant and lounge, but not in the bar.

We have an adults only pub near us. It's bliss!!

Its not the fact children are in the pubs, it's the fact that the parents are piss poor at parenting and allow their children to be feral.

An Ipad playing cocomelon at full blast does not substitute parenting or supervison.

Greene King are ruining pubs all over the place. They bought several pubs where I live from the former brewery that owned them.

First of all, they wouldn't sell most excellent beer made in our local brewery, so a lot of the pubs lost a lot of business as people went elsewhere. Then they tried to inflict the corporate menu on the pubs they took over management of: awful food, delivered on a truck and reheated on the premises. They lost even more trade then, and the pubs owned by the local brewery did very well out of it.

They learned their lesson, and they've either relaxed their rules or leased their pubs to other pubcos, so there's a lot more flexibility now. I still hate their attitude though, and try and avoid Greene King pubs if at all possible.

That's a bit difficult when I go and stay with my friend in Bury St Edmunds though, I think they own/run every pub in town.

I would love that!

I know a few pubs where horses are allowed in the pub garden. One has a sign that says "Please clear up after your horse".

There is a pub in west Clare in Ireland where during the summer horses were allowed to poke their heads through the open windows. Farmers used to come in from the hills by horse to have a few pints and avoid the strict drink driving laws. It was like a wild west saloon.

@LakieLady and @DanseAvecLesLoup

horses in the garden sounds great.

the photo I posted upthread was from a pub in Swanmore where the landlord was outraged that not only did adults sit around getting inebriated all day whilst their kids ran around screaming … but that someone also brought their horse into the bar. I felt kind of sorry for him tbh!

The pub near our stables has tie-ups for our horses so we can go for a pint and sit out in summer whilst the nags have a munch on the grass, it’s great!

What’s happened to all the Wacky Warehouses and Fun Factory type family pubs?

“it's a great place for socialising puppies”

but not children?

I love my local.
It's owned by the Sam Smith's brewery chain and they don't allow mobiles, other electronic devices ( landlords kick you out if they see you on a mobile or other device ) juke boxes and kids are kicked out at 20.00 prompt.
The atmosphere is lively because everyone is chatting and having a laugh rather than being glued to their phones and no shrieking kids.
Absolute bliss.
Try finding a Sam Smith's pub op.

If you bring a screen for your child then provide headphones so as not to disturb other people. If I was playing my music loudly on my mobile there would be complaints. Children aren’t learning to behave as they are not being given opportunities.
it’s good to be bored as it helps you find ways to entertain yourself.
I’m a teacher and quite happy to tell other peoples kids off when out and about.
there were about 8 kids running round the empty table far away from their parents and we were in the empty quiet corner. I told them to go and run round their parents table instead

Because those well behaved children didn't like being seen and not heard so decided they would let their children be heard and seen! The problem really is that the parents are ignoring their children rather than engaging them in conversation or providing them with a quiet activity if they don't want to socialise with them.

I’ve seen posts on social media from parents asking for a pub with child playing areas, I know they exist and I’m sure a handful are decent parents after a nice meal in an area that the kids can play. Pubs supply nice play areas to encourage a wider client base.

However I’ve seen so many times what OP mentions, bored kids given a screen or kids running about as sooo bored, with parents getting drunk.

Or expensive Christmas meal out and kids on iPads (with noise on full), while parents on their phones… while other families are trying to eat their family Christmas meal in relative peace.

We have children, but have only taken them to a family friendly pub for a meal, they don’t bring screens, don’t run around and we talk to them and encourage them to talk to all adults in group and socialise too. If you start like it then they know no different. The last thing I can think of doing is taking kids out and let them run amok while adults get drunk.

I always try to consider the people going out may have saved up all year for a night out.

If a pub has a children’s menu then I don’t go in. Simple as that.

Was in a busy city bar in the suburbs a few weeks ago. It was Saturday night. Parents walk in with crying baby and toddler and make everybody swap seats to accommodate them. Kids bored, crying . The whole pub atmosphere changed. It's not the place for young kids.

I can't believe people moved for them!

I'd like quite a lot of adult only places. I often want to go out with Dh, or friends, and I don't want kids there. I've left my older ds's at home, I don't want to be around kids thanks.

Some pubs are great and others not so.

Some people will sit and get drunk and the kids on phones etc.

I'd find a pub that is more expensive then less of the screaming kids types there, eg Wetherspoons full of kids and a wine bar for lunch not

I was out last Sunday at a nice independent pub in a posh London village. There were lots of families with young children and babies which is fine. I did notice that when I arrived (was waiting for someone to join me) I was put at a table right next to a fireplace but with very little room for me to move or the people at the table next to me etc to move past me. They had a little girl who wasn’t really sitting still. I did ask to be moved to a table nearby where we weren’t so much in the way and that was much better for everyone.

I’ve been in pubs with well behaved and not well behaved children and to be honest I just don’t return to pubs with not well behaved children there. I don’t mind kids on screens with headphones or colouring in at all. If the owners of the pubs were they allow badly behaved behaviour can’t police this behaviour then it’s not enjoyable for me.

Agreed that with some PPs I would go to and do go to pubs where they don’t have children!

Recently though I went with DB and SIL and their 4 year old DS, DB’s best friend and his DW and their 7 year old DS and 3 family friends, it was approx 4pm, but dark, cold and rainy outside so we had to stay inside. I got chips for everyone and crisps and then we all ordered extra food too and the kids were actually really well behaved but that’s because the parents expected it! They weren’t super strict by any means and we all said that f there was a garden and it was summer it’d be much nicer for the kids. The local family friendly pub which has kits for kids was fully booked to eat.

Personally, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with kids in pubs or restaurants it’s really down to parents. Ever since our boy was a baby if we’d go out for a meal we’d arrange it around him, so either when he was napping in a buggy next to us or when older one of us would go out in a local playground or just outside running with him while others ordered then come in about 10min later and if there was still a wait after he was done with the novelty we’d put on an app on silent for him to play on our phones. We’d eat with at least one of us paying attention to him and chatting as much as we’ve adults and then when we were noticing he had enough we might try an app again or, if suitable, go for an explore of the place with him and if neither was working one of us would just get up and leave to play outside. Never caused any trouble to anyone and we got to enjoy adult meals.