To want a coffee shop with a no children policy

[Amiterriblex3]

In a coffee shop and have to listen to a bunch of 2 year old screaming, absolutely screaming at the top of his lungs. Their mothers might be immune to such noise but I am not. I would be embarrassed if my child screamed like that

You think in an era where more people are child free than ever that they go into places that are always full of kids.

The thing is, you do not need to be child free to go to a café without your children 😂. Parents can use these spaces.

I was in a cat cafe at the weekend that had ab age limit. Lovely place.

Parents always go the extreme! I was in a cat cafe at the weekend that had ab age limit, get a grip!

Going by the thread about children in nail salons/spas, plenty of parents relish opportunities for childfree time!

There used to be a cat cafe where I live. Went for my birthday once and it was the calmest hour of my life. Children were allowed but it was understood they wouldn't be allowed to remain if too noisy because the cats might freak.

Sadly, it closed down, but I enjoyed the reverent hush, and the cats were beautiful.

More people than ever are child free, don't put too big a ticket in your own importance! Don't minimise those that don't have kids! I went to a cat cafe at the weekend that had an age limit, it does perfectly fine.

I love this!!!

Because if you are going for a coffee before work on your dinner hour you don't really want to be seen walking into a pub by anyone from work in case the wrong conclusions are drawn.

Why must we always have this sort of extreme comment on these posts? Nobody is saying we should shut kids in the cupboard and never let them out anywhere, FFS.

Why is it so awful to just want a few quiet spaces? Why must we be guilt tripped over SEN children when there are SEN adults who struggle with noise, and also struggled with it when a child.

Why must we be treated like we want the world on a stick? If you'd like everyone that doesn't like noise to stay home instead, you do realise that's going to include a lot of SEND children, people with hearing issues, etc. But that's OK. We shouldn't have any space, because the loud people are more important.

There's one in my small town in Sussex. It was soon followed by a Cornish Bakery coffee shop, and a few months later, the nicest of the independent coffee shops, which was really lovely, closed down.

I boycott them both and use the remaining independents instead, even though they're less convenient. I don't like the way big chains are turning small towns which once had their own unique character into what a friend calls "identitowns".

At the end of the day, a lot less people are choosing to have kids now and with that comes a fair and expected demand for more child free spaces. If you've made the choice to have a kid, crack on with your family orientated places but don't be jealous and resentful of those who aren't in to kids and want more adult orientated spaces!

I'm a traveller and these days I do notice far more babies and toddlers on planes, noisy and screaming kids in museums etc that are not meant for kids. The entitlement has got a bit ridiculous and parents have a baby but want to carry on living the life of someone that's child free rather than reining things in for a few years until the kid is older and it's more appropriate. It's not a big ask for kids not to be shoehorned into every conceivable space and environment when they are at an age of screaming and being noisy.

Are you kidding? I think you’ll find what you are describing here is segregation. Imagine having 50 different types of cafe because a percentage of the community are completely intolerant. How far do you go with it? …it’s ageist and the reason you feel comfortable trying to segregate this particular section of society is because they can’t advocate for themselves! Can you imagine being sick and tired of older people’s behaviour and banning pensioners or something. Insane.

Ok how are you policing it? Are they gonna get security on the door of a cafe to turn away any business that rocks up with a toddler 😂

What I suggest is no more segregation than the quiet zone on a train or a reading room. These places do have to work on the general population have manners and sense though which is the only downfall.

I would actually love more quiet places to be available to all people who need them including children but by all means keep inventing strawmen to fight against. 50 different types of cafe sounds amazing - I’m imaging cat cafes, dog cafes, sky cafes, jazz cafes maybe even a purely classical music one (I’d love that) etc etc - all appealing to different kinds of people - just my luck they would probably all be in London though.

I have a child who makes involuntary loud noises and another who cannot - because that's his flavour of autistic- handle loud noises without shutting down. So yes please to a quiet cafe, with clear signposting so we all know where to go/avoid.

I’ve often thought airlines would make a fortune if they offered a section of the plane which was child free (premium cost).

I honestly don't understand why so many mums with giant buggies hog cafe tables for ages with screeching small children. Is it some sort of dull romanticisation of maternity leave where you can look back and pretend you had "fun" because you sat in a coffee shop for hours during a workday morning?

A cafe environment is makes no sense for small children because they cannot climb, run, explore or do anything that they instinctively want to do. There are rarely things on the menu for babies and toddlers to eat so it invariably means bringing healthier snacks and drinks from home and making crumbs and a mess with food that don't even belong to the establishment.

And yes, I do have kids. I don't recall ever sitting in a cafe with DD when she was small or meeting mum friends for a lengthy time in one. We would get drinks to go and then go to a nearby park or for a walk with the buggies. Or find children's cafes with dedicated play areas and all other guests are parents. It's not fun either to run after a toddler in a tight space hoping they don't knock down other people's cups or disturb the ones working.

I honestly don't understand why so many mums with giant buggies hog cafe tables for ages with screeching small children. Is it some sort of dull romanticisation of maternity leave where you can look back and pretend you had "fun" because you sat in a coffee shop for hours during a workday morning?

I don't think it's that deep... I think they want to sit down and have a coffee indoors, in the warm. Like everyone else who buys a coffee in a cafe to drink in.

I was wondering this too.

In fact I was wondering where on earth all these posters live where cafes are all full of children and cafes descend into earth shattering insolvency if they move away from welcoming buggies and children and mothers.

Don’t think I've seen kids in my local cafes/restaurants - well, other than Burger King and the all you can eat Chinese where kids ate free (now closed down). A pub did rebrand as family friendly, with a play area and toys and what have you - but it didn't really catch on.

And the comments that cafes are pathetically grateful for the mid week child and buggy business - round my area, that's when the 'WFH' laptop workers are out in force chaining drinking coffee and eating an admirable quantity of cake

I honestly don't understand why so many mums with giant buggies hog cafe tables for ages with screeching small children. Is it some sort of dull romanticisation of maternity leave where you can look back and pretend you had "fun" because you sat in a coffee shop for hours during a workday morning?

Maybe they think Motherland is some sort of aspirational lifestyle programme. 😄

I know of a place with coffee and no children you can go to OP. It's called your lounge.

Sounds wonderful!
If my kids screamed in a cafe when they were little more than once or twice, i would have taken them outside and only taken them back inside when they stopped. Tbh it’s best to take toddlers to the park or soft play cafe.

People shouldn't have to stay at home if they don't want to hear children screaming like banshees in coffee shops. Additional needs etc aside, it shouldn't be happening in the first place.

kinda odd to post on Mumsnet!