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.

How are children supposed to learn how to behave if they aren’t taken anywhere?

Gradually, in an age appropriate way! Eg taking a child to a gallery during the day? Fine. At an evening viewing? Less fine. They are taken on things like school trips.

Children don't have to learn not to run about in a pub. They grow out of wanting to be running around all the time without being taught

So they start learning how to go and behave in the pub earlier in the day and when old enough can stay later.

Those places are basically restaurants then aren’t they

Thats called a cafe, pizahut or Macd's

Take them to the park, zoo, museum and galleries. Take them to restaurants (during the day) but pubs aren’t for kids. Course my age probs has a lot to do with it. I remember the pubs in the good old days

Ours had a playground and a fantastic view. No kids admitted after 6 unless eating. Dd was evicted on her 13th birthday. We never went back. Neither did loads of others. There was always complaints on the local fb group about it.

It closed down yesterday……

Go to Southern Europe and you’ll see lots of kids out (including late in the evening) eating meals etc.

(noting that I already said I had sympathy with barring children after a certain time for ‘adult time).

Just because some kids can’t behave, seems unfair to ban all kids. And much like @ArseInTheCoOpWindow it seems to stop a lot of other customers coming at all, even without their kids in tow.

I'd agree with your definition here with one change, to "local communal space adults can meet in"

There are loads of communal spaces you can go with kids. Coffee shops, parks, restaurants, soft plays, museums, libraries.

The pub is different. The primary purpose of a pub is to sell alcohol. It may also do food, but that's not the point of it. Take the food away, it's still a pub. Take the alcohol away, and it's not a pub anymore.

Drinking alcohol is an adult activity. Only adults are allowed to do it. Generally we don't allow kids into our adult environments. No-one is clamouring for kids to be allowed into smoking clubs (actually, do they even exist any more?). We're not saying "Lets take the kid to this horror move". There are as far as I'm aware, no kids allowed in strip clubs.

My parents used to take me to pubs all the bloody time. They weren't generally drunk, but other people were. I hated it there, they were smoky, smelly, loud, boring intimidating places. (This has changed as an adult. I love a pub now)

There are only two kinds of pub where kids should be welcome. Ones that are primarily restaurants (think Beefeater etc), or ones with an adventure playground in the garden. The rest of them, leave them to the grownups.

I go to a southern European country a lot and there is a huge difference between restaurants/cafes serving food and the traditional bars which only serve alcohol and generally show wall to wall football

tje first will have young children in it, the second most definitely not!

Sounds perfect to me. If I go to the out it’s without my children so I do want others running around.

Haven't you just asked the Pub ?

There are lots of places in the UK where pubs are the only place to get a cooked sitdown meal.

The right pub can be a perfectly good, moderately priced venue for adult friends and family to get together at the weekend over a leisurely meal and a moderate amount of alcohol (or none), and bring their children along.

They probably don't want any customers there unless for business reasons. Kids are no worse than drunk adults surely

Go to Southern Europe and you’ll see lots of kids out (including late in the evening) eating meals etc.

This isn't southern europe.

It may stop some customers coming in. They likely aren't the customers the pub most wants, or they wouldn't do it.

Generally speaking european kids behave better and of course have decent weather so can eat/drink outside, they also don't get pissed on pints

It also depends on the pub, one of our local allows children but its a big place with a lovely play area immediately outside, so kids come and go.
The other local pub is much smaller, more "foody" and doesn't allow children at all.

Most pubs aren't traditional pubs anymore. Our town has lost loads of traditional pubs over the years because people don't use them anymore. Most of the pubs outside of town centres have diversified to give decent food and accommodate families.

My kids have been going to pubs since they were very small for family occasions or just for a meal when when didn't want to cook. We eat and then take them home. They've never bothered anyone with an iPad, been allowed to run amok or poke piles of sick in saggy nappies whilst we lay semi comatose.

They chat, read and colour, play I spy or pictionary and if they are getting bored get taken out for a little walk somewhere until the food arrives.

I don't see why we should have been relegated to McDonald's for all these years when we have well behaved children and are contributing to local businesses.

That said however, of course there is room for the traditional type of pub or bar that doesn't accommodate children, or has a cut off. If they can make that work financially then there is nothing wrong with that. There is always somewhere else to go for families.

On the 5 o'clock thing, I think the problem is that if you let a family with children in at 5pm for a meal then they'll still be there at 6/6:30 when it's starting to fill up with adult drinkers (who offer a higher profit margin) and you'll get a demographic clash.

The previous "until 7 pm" policy probably meant they were getting children coming in at 6:30 and then having all the awkwardness of having to kick them out, which is best avoided. Better to have a much earlier cut-off which then gives you room for flexibility if someone hasn't finished their pudding by 5.

👆👏

The fact they've actively brought it forward from 7 to 5 must mean some kind of issue has arisen or there are some vociferous customers who have asked for this.

It depends entirely on the pub in my opinion. Somewhere serving food where customers are mainly seated at tables or at the bar on bar stools I'd expect to allow children in till 8pm (we're in Scotland and 8pm is a key cut off in licensing). But somewhere that's standing drinking mainly I wouldn't bring my child in.

In a more rural setting where there's only one pub in the area I'd hope that there would be somewhere I could have a soft drink and packet of crisps with my child - usually there's a 'lounge' and a 'bar' isn't there in traditional pubs?

''No pub actually wants kids there; they are often unruly and badly parented by parents just getting sloshed. ''

100% this.

Screeching, tantrumming kids who roll around on the floor having loud ''meltdowns'', or running around giggling manically bashing into chairs &c..Who in their right minds wants to pay to have a meal and drink with that racket going on?

Good for the Pub!

A well behaved, quiet child is one thing, but so many kids are just allowed to run riot.

But for many pubs it's not really any different to taking them out to a restaurant for dinner. People are consuming alcohol with a meal. They need to behave and not run around. It's family time over food.
They just tend to be closer to home / cheaper / have outdoor space if the kids get restless

Why do some parents expect their children to be allowed everywhere?!
If I go out, I don't want to listen to other people's kids screaming or whining because they're bored. Or running round tables while we're trying to eat a meal.

Pubs are not places for kids. Those with play areas are worse as it gives parents an excuse to sit there and get pissed.

@LimeAnkles Completely agree

pubs generally make their money through alcohol sales. Unless it’s more of a restaurant than a pub I’d say it’s a good idea. If you want to take your children for a cheap meal while you have a drink there are plenty of options that are not pubs.

I'm taking my friend out to a pub restaurant for her birthday on Tuesday evening. It's not a Wetherspoons type place. I'd prefer a child free atmosphere for a 6.30pm booking but if there are children there (they do a children's menu which is basically smaller portions of the adult menu) I'd hope the children would sit quietly with their parents. We certainly don't want them coming up to us wanting to chat.

Take them to the park, zoo, museum and galleries.

Depends on the child, and on the museum and gallery. Many primary aged children aren't tall enough to view exhibits which are placed at a suitable height for adult viewing. They can't read well enough to read the captions, and wouldn't understand them if they could. They get in the way of adults who do want to study the exhibits in detail. Even when they are behaving well, they are often clearly bored stiff and not benefiting from the trip at all.