Should people 'mind their language' in pubs?

[User135644]

Was in the pub yesterday (only a wetherspoons) and someone uttered a swear word (shit) and the table in front had a child with I guess their mum and dad. The dad turned around and said (mind your language will you?). The man apologised to him and then to the kid.

Now I think you should mind your language in front of children, but if you're in an adult setting, should parents expect only clean language? Pubs are supposed to be adult places. And Wetherspoons are always full of people drinking cheap lager at all hours of the day.

It'd be one thing if he was repeatedly swearing or used a stronger word, but it is a pub ultimately.

No you shouldn’t police your language in most cases (obviously yelling obscenities in a public place isn’t very reasonable) but I think it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to tiptoe around children.

It’s up to parents to teach our children what are ‘bad’ words because we can’t avoid them hearing them.

Ridiculous from the dad. And I’m an absolute prude about language.

I think everyone should always mind it

A pub is an adult space, our local regularly
shows the football:rugby which can lead
to some very ripe language. Whe DD was
little some of the regulars apologised, but were very much of the mind that DD was taught not to repeat.

Generally no, my kids have always known some words are bad and shouldn't be said and if they heard them in public they shouldn't repeat them. Repeated fucks and cunts I would probably say something though.

That said, one of my DD's favourite memories is being on a train home full of Tottenham fans who's been at a losing game. She learnt some new words that day...

Perfect opportunity to teach the child about what language is appropriate and when. Appropriate for an adult in a pub to say shit, not appropriate for a child to say it in the playground etc.

I mean, are they going to tell off every adult their child hears swear in a public place? They just need to accept that their child is going to hear bad words. It's the parents' job to explain to their child.

Depends, one shit is fine but a table of effing and jeffing not so much. But in a pub I would leave it, in a playground I would say something.

Was on a plane once with the kids when they were young and a rugby team were onboard. I did ask the ones near us to stop passing the porno mags ( a ‘specialist’ one) to each other over our heads and to reign in the swearing.
But they were cunt this and cunt that. Was really grating. They did stop once I asked them to.

It would be one thing to be yelling profanities in a soft play area but saying “shit” in a wetherspoons and being pulled up on it is a bit much! Don’t take your children to an adult setting if you don’t want them to hear adult words.

Surely shit isn’t even a swearword?

No - pubs are predominantly adult zones. Children are there on sufferance from the rest of the clientele.

If you don't like your children exposed to adult conversation and language, then don't take them there.

The Dad took a huge risk there. The bloke could have been the type to glass him or anything.
Let’s not pretend these things don’t happen. You can’t be out in public especially a pub where people are getting pissed and not expect to hear any swearing and I say that as someone who hates hearing bad language but I don’t expect the world to pussy foot around me nor do I start clutching my pearls any time I hear a ‘naughty word’.

I never really had a problem with my children choosing whatever words they wanted to use in a given situation. Surely there is no such thing as a bad word.

A man once apologised to my 8yo for swearing on public transport. She told him she hears worse in the playground every day at school. Then told him the name of every child in her class that swears and started in on the rest of the school. He was sorry enough to move by that point.

Wetherspoons in our town very much sells itself as a family venue during the day. Child’s menus, crayons etc.

So in those circumstances the man was unreasonable to swear.

I don’t consider pubs which have children’s menus adult settings (during the day anyway) but I wouldn’t have said anything.
I have on more than one occasion asked teenagers to stop swearing in kids playgrounds though.
and yes shit is definitely swearing (for SimonJT)

In a pub, inappropriate to ask people to moderate their language. If you take a child into a pub you are by default exposing them to adult attitudes and environment, bad language is part of that.

Totally different scenario if it was soft play, or a playground or similar which is a child-centred environment. I did once hear a dad ask a group of teens hanging out in the playground to think about what they were saying as there was a load of pre-schoolers about and they did, apologising profusely in the style of Kevin and Perry.

MysweetAudrina

so you’d be totally nonplussed if your kid said their teacher was a fucking cunt (rather that a mean lady) for example?

Yes I think you should, any if any come out, apologise.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣I bet he'll think twice before swearing in front of children!!

Absolutely not. If people want to take their kids into pubs they have to accept it’s a predominantly adult environment and that comes with adult conversations and language.

Have you been in a Sam Smith's pub?

No swearing
No technology
No music

Love a pint in a Sam Smith's.

Imagine taking your kid to spoons then asking people to stop swearing. Lol. You'd not get a chance to breathe in between the repeated pleading requests.
Of course you should be screaming aggressive sexual and or violence based swearwords AT people, but you'd hope if someone was that bad they'd be barred pretty swiftly.

Pubs are notorious for being places where people drink... (funny that!), as such, inhibitions will be lowered.

Personally, I think it's different depending on the time and area in the pub. Allow and expect it around the bar, and after say 5pm... During daylight hours, and around the dining areas (usually there's a wing away from the bar), then no, treat it as a family area.

Agreed. And I have a 2 yo

In a pub with families eating close by yes.
Normal pub setting then no