Kids should not be in pubs after 6pm?

[ChamonixMountainBum]

Just that really. Evening time in the pub is for adult relaxation and socialising, not somewhere for meeting the needs of young children. I just want to chill out and enjoy a glass of wine without an infant screaming from a buggy, kids on screens or toddlers running about. Yes, I am having a bit of a moan but the last few times I have been in pubs in my area there have been kids still knocking about well past 8pm with parents barely keeping them in check. Can we have pubs in the evening as adult only spaces please.

Why do you deserve to have a drink and a chat in a pub at 6:30pm anymore than a parent with a child?

A pub basically is a restaurant, I assume these pubs full of kids serve a full menu and aren’t hardcore boozers that can only supply crisps.

And no, parents don’t have to stay in their homes of an afternoon/evening because they have a child. The pubs are very happy to have the business.

If you want to enjoy a quiet glass of wine without the inconvenience or interruption of others - maybe you should consider staying at home.

Whose children are in bed by 6pm??? If they are, what is this witchcraft and how do I get my hands on it?

ETA: actually if you can get both my kids down by 6pm I’ll happily stay out of your pubs for dinner.

Quite agree. It’s almost like we can’t have adult only spaces these days. I don’t think I ever took my DD to a pub of an evening.

Very small children will be napping so probably better able to stay up late than school age kids

Non-city pubs don’t make much money out of you with your glass of wine. They need people to be eating and if that means going family-friendly in the early evening, then that’s what they have to do.

I don’t think kids should be in pubs at all, at any time. Mostly because the parents aren’t teaching their kids how to behave in pubs but are either encouraging them to share their love of Peppa Pig via a noisy tablet, or thinking that everyone else is either willing to babysit for a stranger or as enamoured with their kid running around as they are.

But I accept that welcoming in families is going to be what keeps pubs open. And I’d rather have an open pub with kids than a boarded up pub. Definitely shouldn’t be anyone under 10 after 6:30-7pm though.

6pm is very early when most pubs serve food. It’s fine for families to have a pub dinner. There’s a reason the cut off is often 8pm.

Depends on the type of pub I suppose. I don't think I've been in a pub that isn't more of a restaurant for years and 6pm is a bit early to expect families to have finished their dinner and gone home. We generally book a table for 6/6:30 if we're eating with the kids. I'd say after 8pm is entirely reasonable though.

I remember taking my 3 week old to a pub in Hampstead at 10 pm. He wasn't sleeping more than 2 to 3 hours at a time anyway and he was calmer outside so we went out at night once and then stopped at the pub for a meal. It was very quiet, hardly anyone was there..

I think well behaved older children (12+) are ok. The challenge really is with the parents. In younger times I worked in a very middle class pub and in the evenings we quite often had people turn up with very young children and then proceed to get pissed whilst their tired kids created mayhem. I do not think this is an usual scenario.

Yep, well behaved kids are fine. Feral ones running riot whilst their parents get pissed is not on.

No one “deserves” a drink and a chat more than anyone else simply because they don’t have children. The issue isn’t about moral worth or status, it’s about the purpose and environment of a space at a particular time of day.

In the early evening, especially after the typical workday, pubs shift into a more adult oriented atmosphere, conversations become less filtered, alcohol consumption increases, and the tone becomes more social and less family focused. Adults who choose to spend time there can reasonably expect an environment designed around adult norms, not because they are more deserving than parents, but because that is the function of the venue. Parking your excited or bored kids in the corner with Frozen playing on a screen completely changes the atmosphere.

Most pubs are restaurants now who rely on families for custom.

they are struggling enough as it is without imposing more rules on them.

Who is taking their kids to the park at 5pm on a dark winter evening? We take ours to the park, then go and have dinner in the pub. All done by 7pm/8pm at the very latest.

I think it depends what you mean by pub. If we're away we may go to a Marstons or such at 6pm because we've been out for the day and my DCs eat around that time anyway. I can't dictate how long it takes to be served. It is half term here.

Doesn’t the CHILD deserve to be taken home at a decent hour not sat in a pub all night ? It’s hardly the right place for kids is it . They should be having their tea , bathed and watching a film or reading a book nice and chilled . I don’t agree with kids being in pubs on a night at all.

It surely depends on the pub? For a family style pub with a kids menu, around 8pm seems reasonable. Your slightly dodgy local working men's pub would probably be better off child free. It also is a bit age dependent. A 3 year old who needs space to run around and burn off steam is very different to a 12 year sat there watching the football or reading a book or whatever.

Unless you've gone out for food, I really don't see why you'd want to take your kid out late on an evening as they presumably need to be in bed, unless it's a one off like a birthday or whatever. The only time I've personally been out with my toddler past 8pm is when she was a sleepy newborn and on holiday (where she sleeps quite happily in the pram- if she woke up disgruntled, or didn't pram sleep, I'd take her home). Are people really sat in pubs with young children past like 8pm??

Being there at 6pm hardly equates to being sat in a pub all night.

Pretty much no child, even a young toddler is going to bed at 6pm.

I take my son to the park, and occasionally we’ll go to a pub with him to have our tea. He doesn’t have a sip of our alcoholic drinks - never seen or heard of that.

We’re never out beyond about 7. If the pubs want us (and other families with children) they wouldn’t have children’s menus.

Society in the UK wants children to go back to the past when they were seen and not heard. I love it in Spain/Portugal etc., where families are as welcome as anyone else.

I would add that I am speaking about well behaved children. I hate seeing kids running around and being loud in places that serve food - they could
easily hurt themselves or others.

think it varies from pub to pub. I know some that done allow under 18s at all, some that allow them until 4pm but then there’s some that are licensed to have under 18s until 10pm. Even though I agree with you I can see why pubs allow under 18s

Maybe they don’t serve dinner on the park.

Agree with this, of course kids shouldn't be in a rowdy bar but somewhere with a dinner menu still serving meals is fine. 6pm is still dinner time so yabu not to expect to see families at that time.

Personally I prefer the culture in other European cities which are much more child centric and inclusive of families. I think it makes adults reflect on their behaviour in general which benefits everyone and I think it teaches children how to socialise and behave much quicker. I think the whole idea that kids need to be hidden away after 5.30pm is quite sad really. I think we only really have this dynamic because we don't get nice enough weather to sit out late the way other parts of the world do but I don't think it's necessarily good for anyone.

Without families eating dinner at some pubs even more pubs would close.

What type of pub were/are you in @ChamonixMountainBum ?

A pub that serves food? With a beer garden and children’s park/play area?

A pub that sells drinks only. No children’s drinks (fruit shoots/panda pops etc.) No high chairs or children’s play equipment.

A working men’s club. No children’s area. No children’s drinks. No children’s events.

If you were in the first one YABU.

If you were in the second/third one YANBU.