No children in pub after 5pm

[SweetSouls]

My local banned children after 7pm a few years ago.

This seemed unnecessary to me, but I suppose that's after 'bed time' so I could sort of see the logic. Adult time etc.

On Saturday I went to stop there for a drink in the afternoon, and they have now banned children after 5pm.

This seems very odd to me given it's an area that people move to with their families. It's not some town centre boozer, it's surrounded by housing.

Is this just not terrible business? I do not get it at all.

It was almost empty, incidentally, at 5.15 on a Saturday afternoon.

Actually alcohol consumption in Spain is higher per head than in the uk.

Blimey when we’re crisps and pop developed 😆

😂😂😂😂

1978, obvs. Shouldn’t have taken my glasses off while typing, clearly.

Not RTWT but as someone who used to run pubs.....

It really depends on the clientele.

At the food based pubs, there was no limit because families where there to eat and then left. Yes we had the usual issue of kids being allowed to run riot while ma and pa sucked back the wine but that would usually be solved by me pointing that out that they stood a very chance of getting hot food spilled on them and that we would not be held liable if that happened.

However at "locals" it could be a massive problem. Most parents would go in early evening, have a couple with friends and the kids would play in the beer garden or play Uno or whatever and then they would leave. But (and it was always the same couple of families), Ma and Pa would get stuck into the alcohol and basically ignore the kids. The messes we had to clear up sometimes were appalling. The kids were bored and constantly asking for snacks and sweets which were readily bought so Ma and Pa would be left alone. Except most of the snacks would be thrown around and trampled on. They would destroy areas of the beer garden, one memorable incident involved them squirting their drinks over the fence to passers by, which because we were working inside we didnt know about until one of the villagers came in to complain. So, kids were banned after 7. Except that they would always push it. 7 becamce half 7 (you give a bit of leeway to finish drinks...ok) then 8....and then there was always a row about which parents turn it was to take the kids home so the other one could stay and get even more ratted.

So we instigated a "last orders" thing where we rang the bell and shouted "Kids out in half an hour!" in a friendly way but we stood by it. Yes there was a lot of push back (WE SPEND A FORTUNE IN HERE!!) and we were empty by 7.15 but a hell of a lot busier by half 8 as the regulars who had stayed away due to the kids, came back.

TLDR; they are not going to ban kids after a certain time without good business reasons. Just because your kids are ok, doesnt mean all of them are.

We didnt do the "in the car at the pub" thing, because we almost never went to the pub. My mother, for good reason, hates pubs and drunk people so if we did go it was a walk down the hill to the naice pub by the river in the summer. We would have one or two drinks in the beer garden and walk back home. But cousins/friends etc did get this. Their fathers would drive to the pub, often on a Sunday lunchtime, chuck a bottle of pop and a packet of crisps at the kids, and then go back in with their mates. The mum would be home making dinner without the kids around her feet and got a bit of peace.

Was it ok? No. Was it very very common? Yes.

Ditto. Many a summer’s evening in the 90s spent in the beer garden because we weren’t allowed inside the pub.

lol don’t be ridiculous .
of course having a play area is specialist/ unusual, but very many very normal and very nice pubs have kids menus and highchairs

It’s not just the evening it can be a nightmare with kids during the day.

I worked in a few places where women who didn’t work but had kids would come and spend the afternoon in the pub and order a couple of kids meals and fruit shoots then get stuck into drinking.
The worst I worked in was one of the few pubs that sold food all day but also was near to the town centre and the main bus stop and a taxi rank so people would come in whilst waiting for a bus or taxi or when it was raining.
The kids wouldn’t eat their food and throw it on the floor or at other, open the individual condiments and smear them and tip out the salt shakers. Occasionally there would be “Harley, Chantal, come and sit down!” But they were mostly ignored.
The kids would get bored and pester people on other tables and listen to iPads on full blast then eventually when their mums had finished their wine they would get a taxi home.

I stopped working the day shifts because when I tried to ask them to keep an eye on their little treasures I’d just get abuse. There was a kids menu but no colouring books, play stuff etc….
They just seemed to be constantly running round and get louder and louder, it’s a small town so gained a reputation for being a crèche and childfree people (or people with well behaved kids!) stopped visiting.

Kids were banned after 6pm and not allowed near the bar at all but they were often still there until evening. Eventually staff kept leaving and a child fell down some stairs after visiting the toilet alone so children got banned full stop.
The atmosphere completely changed and I’m sure their profits increased, they kept staff much longer as well!

There are so few childfree spaces now that I don’t think it’s unreasonable to have adult only pubs. Most people don’t want to pay for a babysitter then listen to peppa pig and baby shark and wails of “i’mmmm borrrred”.

It’s fine for people not want to change their lifestyle after having children but it’s unrealistic to think that people want to see their kids in adult environments and chat to them. Sometimes you just have to make sacrifices for a few years or get a baby sitter to go to certain places.
The majority of the UK bends over backwards for families and children but you still hear constantly that we hate kids in this country. If people aren’t welcoming to your children and actively avoid them and yearn for childfree spaces it’s likely you are one of the parents that people post about who let their kids run feral!

Yeah you see it so often on MN "OH the UK is so unwelcoming to families and children unlike in Europe!" OK love, take your feral little beasts to a restaurant in Spain at 8pm and see how you get on!

What they mean is "I can't be arsed to teach my kids how to behave appropriately in a restaurant and when I am getting stuck into the Princess Petrol I will moan like hell at and about anyone who says I should actively be parenting them"

I havent lived abroad but have family who do and they dont go out to drink with the kids in tow, they go out as a family to socialise and drink may be taken as part of that. Its a very big difference that a lot of British people dont seem to have clocked.

Ban them after a certain time.
no one wants to go to the pub after a long day at work and listen to noise! Even I have a child but never take said child to the pub after 6 or 7 as it would be to much for them. And I’m sure other patrons don’t want to be bothered either. If I do go it’s usually early on a Saturday or Sunday.

Not everywhere has to be child friendly. There are plenty places that are but it doesn't mean every single place has to be.

I think they will benefit from this rule and there will definitely be a reason for it.

Firstly if I go on a lot of threads here, it seems many kids are allowed to to whatever they please, gentle parenting is doing them no favours a lot of the time.

And then if people want to go out for a drink or meal to relax at the end of the day, how relaxing is it to be surrounded by noisy kids. Some people go out to get a break from that.

Can’t stand young kids in pubs.

Fruit squash that you add water to.

Most pubs won’t survive now without the food trade. Banning kids at five will lose them a lot of that trade….

This. When I have been in Europe my observation is that kids out in the evening are not allowed to run riot. They are expected to sit with their parents and participate in the meal in a civilised manner.

Absolutely, drunk women can also be a right pain, although I can't say I've noticed the middle aged lady thing, for me it's mostly younger women who can't handle their booze. But I've also worked in bars, and as a customer and a worker, it's definitely drunken men who have caused more problems over the years, in terms of horrible antisocial behaviours.

Yeah you see it so often on MN "OH the UK is so unwelcoming to families and children unlike in Europe!" OK love, take your feral little beasts to a restaurant in Spain at 8pm and see how you get on!

What they mean is "I can't be arsed to teach my kids how to behave appropriately in a restaurant and when I am getting stuck into the Princess Petrol I will moan like hell at and about anyone who says I should actively be parenting them"
There's a certain type of parent who confuses a venue being open to children and family friendly with it being an acceptable play for children to run riot and misbehave.

You see it on threads about cafes and restaurants too. Whilst most posters will say that they don't mind children being there (and will often bring their own children), it's reasonable to expect that children aren't running around, shrieking, disrupting other people, sitting with loud toys, playing on tablets/phones with the volume on speaker etc.
Inevitably the responses from a minority will come in along the following lines:

"Here come the perfect parents. Bet your children have never made any noise"
"If you want silence then go to a library"
"Some of you are miserable. If you hate children maybe you should stick to adult only places"
"They're just kids being kids. Of course they can't sit still or be quiet. Only on Mumsnet do children never make a sound."
"How sad people expect children to be seen and not heard."
"So what if there's a tiny bit of Peppa Pig on? It's only on quietly and you'd be moaning if my children were running around too. There's no difference between Peppa Pig and other conversations."
"The venue is FAMILY FRIENDLY and has high chairs. Of course they want children to be there."
"The UK hates children. When we go to Europe everyone loves children. On holiday the bar staff always say how cute our little pumpkins are."

They will do anything to avoid acknowledging the fact that most people have no problems with well behaved children and no problem with children enjoying a family meal, and no problem with children sitting in a family friendly pub or other venue, because the issue is with ineffective, inconsiderate and lazy parents who can't be bothered to parent.

I love pubs but am not keen on sweary sports fans

My local allows kids in on international rugby match days. Things can get a bit, er,passionate. I am in Wales.

The majority of the UK bends over backwards for families and children but you still hear constantly that we hate kids in this country.

I know MN thinks it’s the opposite but I really think this is bang on.

Business owners have to make tough decisions. Banning kids at five might lose them trade if the families that eat are polite and respectful to other diners but if they are not - banning kids makes good business sense.
I went out with a friend to Carluccios many years ago - she allowed her kids to run wild - my kids were told very firmly to stay in their seats, never again - I was so embarrassed by her kid's behaviour.

Spot on, but you missed the two main ones: "They have ADHD" and "If made to sit down they'll have a meltdown and that'll be worse for everyone"

I don't think so. They'll have an influx of child-free people and people with older kids coming in for dinner.

Banning kids of under 7 in the evenings seems good business practice to me. A lot of places start serving their evening menus between 6 and 7 so that would seem like a good time to say no small children. 5pm is perhaps a bit early but maybe it works for them.

The operative part of your post is "day".

I think if you do the cut off later then you get into a position where you actually need to chuck people out which is asking for trouble. No point in letting a family in at 5:45 and taking their food order if you're going to kick them out at 6. If you have an earlier cut-off for entry then you're able to guarantee that the place is childfree by 6:30 when it starts filling up with drinkers.