What makes a family friendly pub? Share and you could win £100 NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

As part of the Mumsnet Family Friendly Programme we'd love to know what you think makes a family friendly pub and to name any pubs in your local area which you believe have a great family friendly environment.

Here's what Carrie Longton, co-founder of Mumsnet says "we all know you can have a great family time in your local - but also that it can often be disappointing. We'd love to know what's good and not so good in your local pub - or even about one you discovered on holiday!"

So how do you think pubs could be more family friendly? Should they include a nutritious family friendly menu? Maybe there should be adequate baby changing facilities in the bathrooms? Perhaps slot machines should be replaced with a toy chest for younger children? How about older children - how would you like to see them catered for in pubs? What about customer service - how important is this? Would well-insulated outdoor areas do it for you? What do you NOT want to see?

We'd also love to hear what local pubs you think have a really good family friendly environment. Please state their name, and location (town or village) where they're situated.

Add your views (and pubs!) and you'll be entered into a prize draw where one MNer will win a £100 Amazon voucher!

Click here to learn more about companies who are working to make the UK a more family friendly place

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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For teenagers? Decent wifi

We recently went into a family pub in Hexham, and my 3 year old was whinging, a couple on the next table stormed out shouting that they didn't want to sit next to a screaming child, I was mortified, the waitress was mortified and its put me off going out for meals ever again. We do have a local pub though, the Aikton arms where I take my daughter because we know the owners and they are very laid back......

Not entirely sure we know any that fit the bill. The ones that are pitched specifically at families seemto be full of left-to-their-own-devices-kids whilst parents overindulge in alcohol.

Somewhere that doesn't raise an eyebrow at children but that maintains standards and a nice ambience.

It's actually a challenge to make a pub family-friendly without totally compromising its appeal TBQH.

I think first of all it should have a play area for children that is safe and away from the drinking area and yet in full view. I think high chairs, baby changing facilities and even baby food on the menu are also good.

Enough space to fit a pram. Decent food, with an option to stagger serving so both parents can have a hot meal!

Space for kids to play

Absolutely a clean babychange and clean high chairs.
Good facilities for baby feeding such as the tommee tippee travel bottle warmer and a microwave for heating baby food. Staff also need to be willing to help with this, some places refuse to heat stuff for health and safety reasons
Comfy seats with armrests help with feeding young babies, whether breast or bottle.
Colouring in, word-searches etc. always welcome.

• children welcome sign
• friendly attitude towards families by staff
• accommodating staff regarding allergies, smaller portions of the main, diet preferences.. flexibility in menu which can be achieved if things are cooked freshly AND staff are accommodating
• plenty of space for prams
• can sit anywhere and not a family 'noisy' area separately
• play equipements in the garden outside. yes must have a nice big garden.
• no smoking in the garden.
• baby changing facilities IN BOTH MEN AND WOMENs toilets. its sexist to assume its just the female who will be changing.
• pasta with pesto for kids and not just bloody tomatoes.
• throw kids events which will bring business in quieter times like the morning and early afternoon like sing songs or kids disco.
• great sunday roast but also include VEGAN options

mostly, the attitude of staff, making you feel welcome when you come in with prams or kids or breastfeeding.

Menus
A menu for under 5s as well as older children, sometimes portions for my 2 year old are huge and expensive too, she won't eat it all.
Decent children's menu - not just battered fish or chicken with chips, include veggies too, my daughter loves brocoli, carrots etc but usually only has a choice of peas or beans!
Don't bump the price up by including a drink, my daughter only drinks water which is free so this again is wasted money.
Have an option just to buy mains and not have to have 3 courses.

Cutlery etc
Plastic small tumblers
Small forks and teaspoons

Activities
Provide the children with an activity pack. The best I had was a little pack which included some matching pairs cards, a snakes and ladders game and colouring - kept her occupied all night!
One local pub has a small area indoors with basic wooded abacus etc, only a small area but she can go off and meet up with other children for a bit of a play.

I have been to places that do all of the above and even if the food isn't brilliant we will return as it is much more pleasant to eat out when my daughter has an enjoyable time.

A child-friendly pub would be first of all the one that allows children in. A few years ago my brother was visiting with his family, and they stopped by in that pub which is featured in Inspector Morse, The Trout Inn. It was a cold day, and all they wanted was a quick lunch. The pub owners told them that the child (she was around 3 years old then) was not allowed inside, and should stay outside. The weather was so nasty, that my brother said he wouldn't feed a dog outside.
We have a lovely gastropub in town - The Fleece (Witney) which is popular with parents and young children, especially after the school run in the morning.
Ideally the menu should include a variety of child-friendly meals, and not just breadcrumbed horrors from the freezer served with chips + a squash.
A basket of small toys and books would be great, plus some colouring sheets and crayons.

Seperate areas for families and those not out with children.
A flexible menu that is pick and mix style i.e. this bread/wrap/potato with this meat/veggy option and this side - great for fussy eaters.
Icecream or milkshake station at a supplement to make it fun
Or buffet as no waiting time.
Inside and outside play areas
Space between tables for buggys
DECENT COFFEE FOR THE SLEEP DEPRIVED ADULTS !!
staff who actually like children

Pear Tree Farm in York at Monks Cross is an excellent example of this

The Leigh Arms in Cheshire is great.
Old fashioned, still feels like a pub.
Nice outdoor play area.
Hub of the community with its dog shows, steam engine and wrestling events!
Child menu is chip led but they will do smaller portions of other things if you ask.

With regards to teens, I don't believe they need any special concessions.

If they can't be interested in the company, conversation, food and venue then we have lost all hope really.
I don't allow phones/gadgets when we are at the table at home, and am not starting that when we go out!

A designated baby changing/breastfeeding room. The amount of times I've enquired whether they have such a room and been delighted when they said 'yes, we do' only to be taken to the disabled toilets : ( I wouldn't eat my food in the loo, so I wouldn't expect my baby to either.

A varied and nutritious kids menu.

Plates and cutlery especially for children - we tend to take our own with us. I hate it when they bring my pre-school daughter's food to her, on a side plate, and say 'don't tough, the plate is very hot!' It shouldn't be, you're serving it to a child....

Activity packs, or just sheets, with crayons. Again, we tend to take our own.

Indoor and outdoor play facilities.

Baby changing facilities in both the mens and womens toilets! Things to entertain the kids, even a simple colouring set does wonders!

A children's menu, crayons on the table as a minimum. some kind of play area a big bonus - would travel a fair way for great food in comfortable surroundings with a quality play area.

I love a family friendly pub! :)
Having plenty fun activities for children, Safe outdoor and indoor play area would be brilliant too.
Nice clean high chairs and plenty changing facilities is a must!
Rewards for eating all their food would be fantastic too hehe

Proper good in kids portions, or don't make a fuss if I ask for an extra plate. A 3yo and an 8mo aren't likely to want a full child's portion like an 8yo would.

Play area with lots of tables within child-grabbing distance. I don't need to helicopter the 3yo but I do need to see him just in case.

Clean high chairs for sure. Nothing worse than having to lug the baby under one arm while rummaging for a baby wipe. Which is not an effective cleaning product for something someone is about to eat off - you dish wash plates, how about my not-yet-fully-immune baby gets the same consideration, eh?

I am would love to spend more family time in the pub! A small list in no particular order would be: Space for the pushchair, menus for the children that are not chips and beans based, some kind of paper/napkin bib, cuttlery and cups with lids for the toddlers, an enclosed play area with some shelter and not too far from some adult seating, space one toilet cubicle for an adult and child with a lock positioned a bit higher to save my blushes! a baby change unit in the mens!
We do like to go to the local village pub in the summer as the garden is great and quite often they will have a few outdoor games put out to keep them amused eg. hoops, skittles, giant jenga & connect 4. The stumbling distance home is also a massive advantage!

Plenty of high chairs.

Plenty of space to park your pushchair near your table.

Varied food options, and not the standard three courses for £6 thing. Different portion sizes for smaller and bigger children, priced accordingly.

Baby changing separate to loos, or in both ladies and gents if there's no room for separate facilities.

Secure outdoor play facilities.

No fruit machines! They're magnets to my three year old.

Willingness to heat baby food.

Availability of appropriately boiled water to make bottles. Most places would probably do this if asked, but I've never seen it publicised.

Children's meals that go beyond chips and pasta, and more veggie options for children.

No 1 priority for us is smokers to be kept well away from the building. Often they leave doors and windows open and smoke comes in. Better still would be totally non-smoking premises so kids could enjoy an outdoor play area.

I don't like dark and dingy pubs so light and airy would get my vote.

please make the food quality for the kids menu out of decent ingredients. Sometimes you get nice pub food for adults eg with local high quality sausages then the kids menu has cheap processed sausages.

Clean decent toilets and more than one loo as kids can't wait that long if there is a queue.

The changing facilities must be excellent clean and big enough to slide the buggy in. The best thing would be plastic plates- I hate been given a ceramic plate with my DC food and being told careful its hot (excellent a screaming toddler and i have to move a hot plate of their food away from them - while they try to get at it)
a good range of children s food - not just chips and chicken nuggets my DC loves food and every time we go to eat the range is just so limited. why not little portions of adult food as my DC cant have dairy so this makes eating out difficult. The most important is a place to play - actually run or move,crayons and puzzles are fine but they don't even last long enough to get our order taken. Also when it is just me and DC means taking her to the bar to order (which I do not enjoy) I miss when an order was taken at the table.

ah nice old moan

Clean, available seating is what I would consider towards a family friendly environment in a pub.

Decent food for both - mini portions of adult food for kids, not standard 'yellow' chicken nuggets/burgers/sausages option

Good toilet facilities with mini loos, potties and changing tables

Play bit outside

Colouring stuff brought to the table

Understanding staff!

Lots of high chairs and booster seats