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?

A lot of pubs are struggling and obviously need the clientele, so will encourage families (often with climbing frames etc).
But if I am ever in a pub with my kids (which would only be for special occasions as I think there are much better places to take your children) I am very aware of what they are doing, and ensuring they aren't annoying anyone else.
Unfortunately, the general rule for a lot of parents is to mostly ignore their kids and concentrate on their own social life and drinking.
I often feel sorry for the staff in these situations, which are clearly stressful and often dangerous because no one is watching the children.
I am often keeping half an eye on everyone else's kids, and have stopped fights/ accidents/ taken crying children to their parents. As a young adult (18) I can remember doing the same and thinking it was ridiculous and annoying then too.

Being from a different country that doesn't allow children in pubs, I found it surprising how common it is other places.

Not that it mattered as my ex husband would take us to restaurants that served alcohol and allowed smoking so most of the time he would get drunk and loud. Pretty embarrassing. A couple of times was asked to leave for trying to start a fight with a man at another table.

So, no I'm not keen about being in or having children in that environment.

Age is within that. I know about licensing. Sometimes the Police will site antisocial behaviour etc and those conditions can be set. Unless that is the case, the ageism should be challenged. I can't see what issues me and my three DD's, now 25-35 ever caused when two were under 25.

Tho g is we take the kids to the pub periodically and I've never known this happen. I've gone to pubs with DH or friends or alone and only rarely known trouble. So most people taking kids to pubs aren't socialising their kids with violent alcohols and smoking on pubs was banned years ago.

Maybe it's the pubs I go to but I just don't recognise these places full of screaming kids running amok as all their drunken parents prop up the bar before stumbling home at whatever time unsure of how many kids they left behind

I really don't understand why people are suggesting that I judge parents who allow children on ipads, when I clearly said I do not judge in the post? Re read it. It really comes across like people want an argument on here for people having an opinion.
I go to a local, family friendly pub, who need the custom of the families that go in, or it would close down, simple as. There are loads of families in there, the landlords grandchildren are in regularly. People know each other, and everyone gets on. If the adults want somewhere where there are only adults, they'll go to the bar down the road where kids aren't allowed. There's plenty of them. People come to the one I go to because it is family friendly, and this is made clear.
There is a park outside and a big seating area - for those who think I allow my little one to actually run around when it's dangerous, get a grip. She mainly does that bit outside. Alot of people on very high horses on here. How's the view up there?

@Jerseylaura to be fair you didn't say she runs around outside though did you. For all we know she's running around getting in the way of waiting staff which is dangerous.

I was a child in the pubs with my parents in the 80s, and I take my child to the pub now. .... Sometimes she runs around and is a bit bonkers hmmm, why do people think you let her run around inside?? Probably because of what you wrote??

I went to the pub so much as a kid I ended up working there at 14 because I was sick of sitting around but my dad was a single parent and enjoyed the social side of it, back then they had softplay and outdoor areas which many lack now but I take mine every other weekend to meet family but they’re well behaved, no one is getting drunk and it makes them feel grown up however if they were being noisy and messing around then that’s my job to be the parent.

@Jerseylaura She “mainly” runs around outside so sometimes inside? That’s not OK even if you think it’s not dangerous. Pubs aren’t playgrounds for running about it. You need to find a way to stop this from happening.

Kids with devices blaring out in public drive me nuts. Why do parents think everyone around them wants to listen to Baby Shark on flipping repeat?? It's so ignorant and yes I do judge them as awful parents.

I also fully agree. I generally find entitled people using the 'don't judge' response to shut down reasonable challenge. I don't want to sit in a pub surrounded by noisy kids with noisy phones or ipads. I don't think that's an unreasonable expectation.

Seems to be a Friday afternoon crèche at our local. Big bunch of mums with small kids rock up every week after school and sit there with bottles of wine while the kids run riot in the beer garden 🙄