Places actively discouraging children

[Allhallowseve]

Just wondering what other people opinions of this are?
I follow a few local garden centres as we visit quite regularly under normal circumstances. Since they have reopened they are advertising as being open but asking people not to bring children.
I am just finding the way children have been treated throughout this pandemic absolutely awful .... I don't know if it's just me?
Yes I know things could be far worse for them and people are shielding not able to really get out. But garden centres actively discouraging children from visiting?!
Adults are able to meet up in outdoor areas yet it's incredibly hard for children to do the same. Adults can pop out to shops now , grab a coffee maybe do a couple of things they enjoy . However the play parks are padlocked and taped up . Most school year groups are not going back until September , all playgroups , clubs and classes are cancelled. Yet they are the least vulnerable group in society and seem to have been forgotten.

The reality for most people with children though is that you are unlikely to leave them behind.

So for example weekends are the only time I get to have quality time with them and when you take away the time I have to spend on cleaning, cooking, washing etc, then any leisure time is spent as a family. Worse now as possibly going to a garden shop or something like that isn't just popping somewhere to grab a couple of things but seem as more of an outing and I would not want to go on my own or go and leave the kids at home.

So basically I just don't go as its easier.

Odd isn't it that there is a no children policy when they are the very least affected by this virus? A no over 70 policy would be far more effective and commonsensical.

The point is the playgrounds are still closed, schools are not back fully, children's rights have been eroded, yet it is OK for adults go to homebase, B&Q, Niketown whatever. Whenever I have gone anywhere other than a bike ride with DC I have been glared at. Supermarkets mutter about no children. God forbid we go on public transport ...

Many essential shops are not encouraging browsing at the moment, they just want people to come in, get what they want and then leave. Our local supermarkets regularly play a message on the tannoy to ask people to do their shopping as quickly as possible, as other people are queuing to come in.

Shopping is not meant to be seen as a leisure activity at the moment.

It will be interesting to see how zoos etc cope with this. Obviously they will let family groups in, but lingering probably won't be encouraged as they will want as many families in as possible during the day.

@GoldenOmber

Imagine the uproar if people were told 'no over 60's' or 'no adults allowed'

Would make more sense given the risk. If the over 60s complain perhaps they could go for a nature walk or do some crafts at home or walk a few circuits around the local park instead? Apparently children should still be lapping that up after 3 months, so surely their grandparents can manage...

Absolutely! Because all that matters is that people are SAFE and not SADLY DYING of this KILLER DISEASE!!!

I do think the problem is that such limited numbers are allowed in at the moment. I went to our local craft store yesterday, and definitely felt given that they were only allowing 12 customers at a time that the parent with 2 children was being slightly selfish to take up a quarter of the store’s capacity. They were still browsing when I had quickly chosen my few items and paid and the queue outside was right round the building.

I do feel for people who have children at home at the moment, and have 3 of my own and 2 DSS’s who are all 17 plus now and I worked in Early Years for many years and know how many families who appear fine to others are probably feeling they are about to go down for the last time. The answer is to get them back to school and at least open the parks again and we should as a society push for this.

Can't imagine children would enjoy queuing 2 hours to get into Primark, not exactly a day out.

Many Disabled children and adults have had every, single service cut off. And they often can't access the little that is available.

I know things are hard, they really are but I can't really get het up over little Jimmy not being able to go to a garden centre when I know kids who have lost mobility because they havent been getting the physio and OT sessions they'd usually have. Plus things like horse riding is no longer available which is great for upper, body strength.

My advice would be go somewhere else, hell zoos are opening soon.

And I know play parks aren't open but you can still have fun in the park, in fact I passed a family earlier having an amazing time with a pound shop giant glider and some bubble wands.......sometimes things are just what you make them.

My DC are adults. I really miss seeing children around.

We are unable to visit our usual garden centre, which is doing takeaway coffee and cake - ended up going through a Costa drive-through instead. Can't use our free coffees and DD was looking forward to some cake!

They should consider doing a family day or family hours - I will suggest that. Although they haven't replied to my request for them to extend some vouchers from April yet so I am not hopeful of a reply!

Have to agree with the poster who said it seems to be OK for children to be stuck at home but not anyone else!

And ironically what these children are experiencing now is what disabled children have for a life time. They're locked out of play areas because they aren't accessible. They have to wheel past whilst their friends play.

I'd love to see a big campaign to make play areas accessible to all but let's face it the only ones who care are those directly affected by it.

@ThePlantsitter

I hate it when people say 'shopping isn't a family outing'. I wonder what they will think of the generation of kids become adults who think food and provisions magically turn up in the fridge with no input from them. Entitled brats probably.

I never took my son grocery shopping. I valued my sanity too much. He seems to have managed to feed himself since he left home. Shopping isn’t a family outing at the best of times, let alone now.

I wish they’d open the playgrounds, it’s been lovely seeing and hearing the kids in our local one since some enterprising parent broke the padlock and the town council was wise enough to turn a blind eye.

I suspect it's a commercial decision due to limits on the headcount allowed in the shop.

3 adults - 3 people who are potentially going to spend money
1 adult 2 children - only one person potentially going to spend money (other than v. minimal pocket money depending on shop) but still taking up person spaces.

Yes, they would lose 1 paying adult in scenario 2 but if there are adults queuing up to get in, it's not really a loss to them.

You can't really blame them as they desperately need to start recouping their losses.

now all "non essential" shops are open why are children being discouraged to attend?

Because there is still a dangerous virus out there, killing hundreds of people every day, that is potentially spread through every human contact. We're ALL still supposed to stay at home as much as possible. As few people as absolutely necessary are supposed to go shopping. Most shops do have a 'one person per household' rule, which necessarily includes children. Over 70s have indeed been told to stay at home, not just children.

I do agree to a extent children have been treated badly during this pandemic and not just by the government , as people are quite happy to keep them off school but want to bring them to Asda .
I don't think at the minute shops are places to go unless you need to so are not days out for the family etc , it's for obvious reasons.
I do see why so many want to go out so wouldn't judge .

The reason young people are overlooked is because they do not have any consumer power or voting rights. However children get older and will spend money and vote for those that value them

Some people's attitudes are astounding like children should just disappear because they 'get in the way' etc etc.

Such stereotyping is ridiculous and ageist.

My children, 15 and 12, will not forget some attitudes they have come across. If they expressed these views they would be heavily criticised.

I know it is very difficult if you have kids in tow but I'm afraid I'm on the side of the Garden Centres here.
You may keep your children perfectly by your side constantly but most parents don't. With the risk of infection, I do not want to go into a shop or garden centre that has children wandering around, shouting, coughing, not socially distancing and touching everything in sight.

Yes, I know children are the least vulnerable but it's about spreading viruses not whether the children are vulnerable. Children are the greatest spreaders of infections, not just COVID but other infections too - just ask anyone who works in a school and comes down with every cough, cold and sickness bug that all the pupils have.

It means that children do not need to be putting others at risk in general society while we try to get on top of the pandemic, especially as we are easing lockdown. Hopefully it won't be too long now and things can get back to some sort of normality very soon....

Time to bring back reins

I agree OP. Children have been thrown under the bus by the government.

But it's not for individual shops to make up for that. As others have pointed out shops (and public transport, for the poster who mentioned that) have limited capacity and allowing children along presumably doesn't increase the spend per adult enough to cancel out the increased queuing time for others when hours are limited and people might go elsewhere.

You might well find that after a couple of weeks, once the initial rush is over, policies are relaxed a little. You might also find that some shops decide they've made the wrong decision economically and reverse their policy.

But it is still not for individual businesses to compensate for the government. That's not to deny how hard this is on children (and that's not to say it isn't also hard on those shielding).

Can't use our free coffees and DD was looking forward to some cake!

They should consider doing a family day or family hours - I will suggest that. Although they haven't replied to my request for them to extend some vouchers from April yet so I am not hopeful of a reply!

Free coffees is probably not top of any business agenda right now, no.

And as for a family day, if there is enough interest and it can be done with toilets, cafes and playgrounds closed then why not. I imagine the garden centre would need to charge an entry fee, redeemable against purchases, but as long as you're happy to pay that they might well go for it.

They need to,open the play parks and advise kids/parents to ensure hands are sanitised afterwards.

@geojojo

I completely agree. And I have never been in a supermarket where children are running up and down the aisles and pushing past people, during lockdown and before.

Really? You’ve never seen children running around in a supermarket? You can’t be very observant then.

@Smitemedamnsmaug

Odd isn't it that there is a no children policy when they are the very least affected by this virus? A no over 70 policy would be far more effective and commonsensical.

Not odd at all. Generally the children aren’t the ones spending money.

If I was more technologically mind I'd organise a hash tag or a list somewhere of "child unfriendly" places so I will remember where to boycott.

I took my 13 yr old to the supermarket last week. Did he NEED to go... No. But he hadn't left our village or really seen any people outside the immediate family in 3 months. He admitted he was scared of going somewhere public. He's gone from an outgoing happy sociable 13 year old boy to some fearful of public places. So I took him. Mainly because part of my job is for my teenagers and children to become independent , self sufficient members of society. He was the only one in the shop bar one wearing a mask ( his choice). There were many older couples shopping but we saw noone else under 16. We are marginalising our young people and are going to be surprised when they struggle with entering society again.

I am massively fucked off with how we are treating teenagers and will happily add to my shit list any shop which bans them

I went to order a bed from Next on Saturday and there was a family in there with 2 children around 5 and 6 who were running around bouncing and rolling on the beds - they were clearly bored but parents just let them potentially spread germs. This is the reason they don't want kids in stores - irresponsible parents🤷🏻‍♀️

@Allhallowseve

The simple matter surely is that with social distancing there is less room for potential paying customers and - with the best will in the world - children will get bored and run around