Children in pubs

I agree with gillybob that it's nice more pubs are family friendly so that parents can their children for a meal occasionally. However, I think parents should ensure that their children are reasonably well behaved - not running around or being very noisy.

I agree with Oldwoman70. I have no problem whatsoever with children being in pubs and restaurants, provided they are at the table with their Parents and not running around the room out of control. It's not only annoying, but extremely dangerous to them and adults. Staff carrying trays of hot food and hot drinks can do without children running in and out of them, causing havoc and risking serious injury to themselves by being scalded.
Why should people stay at home or travel many miles out of their way to avoid badly behaved children and their inconsiderate parents/carers. You might be happy to do that, but why should you expect others to do the same PhiPhisnana? As you say, everyone has an equal right to be there. What they don't have is the right to cause disruption to others.

I agree with oldwoman70 children are welcome provided parents supervise and monitor their behaviour. I have done my stint with children and grandchildren and don't expect to be bothered by other people's offspring when I am out for a relaxing meal or drink.
Regarding the difference in behaviour between British and other European children, I would point out again that our pub culture is quite different from the restaurants in France, Italy etc.

and why should they merlot ? to satisfy a few old moaners/child haters?

If I want a quiet adults only drink then we venture more to country side, not so family friendly pubs

Eh?? Country pubs are bending over backwards to attract trade. Unless they're a destination poncey eatery, there's no way they'd discourage families.

PhiPhisnana you don’t mind children running around? My disabled mother would have fallen if I hadn’t managed to steady her when one of these little Angels knocked into her when he was literally jumping about trying to avoid one of the other little Angels. A game of tig I believe was happening between 3 children while their parents were sitting chatting away, oblivious to anything their little Angels were doing. I did go and say to their parents what had nearly happened. Not even an apology, just called the children over and told them to stay away from our table, not to sit down, just stay away from our table. The game continued beside other tables. There were considerable dirty looks and glowering from the adults towards our table. Family friendly doesNOT mean it is a playground!! However you think this is acceptable and they have an equal right to be there and we should go further out into the countryside!!
Can I ask, was it you sitting across from us??

Not a restaurant experience with a dog but a train. Last Friday travelled from Gatwick to the south coast by train. Not a guide/assistance dog of any kind was sitting on a seat! A very large German Shepherd although well behaved was firstly sitting upright then lying over the two seats. The owner was in another seat behind and opposite the dog. Couldn't think of anything other than the muck and hairs the next person using the seat would find. I am a dog lover but thought this was beyond belief.

PhiPhisnana You are right everyone has a right to be there - just as everyone has a right to enjoy an evening out without someone elses child making a nuisance of themselves. I have no objection to children being in pubs, cafes, restaurants or wherever - all I ask is that the parents monitor their behaviour and ensure they are not bothering other customers

Children running around? Goodness....who has ever heard of such a thing?

I don’t mind it at all.
They’re family friendly places nowadays.
Everyone has an equal right to be there and nobody is more superior than the other.

If I want a quiet adults only drink then we venture more to country side, not so family friendly pubs, stay at home or go round friends.

I have found that as I have got older I have got far more tolerant of children than I ever was in my youth. I like that children can now be in pubs. When I was a child my parents used to go for a drink some weekends in Summer, and leave us three kids outside in the car park with crisps and lemonade. Imagine anyone doing that nowadays!

When my boys were young it was very hard going out as a family - I felt the disapproval like something heavy in the air every time my children spoke too loudly , fidgeted, dropped their forks etc - it was not relaxing for me and no fun for them. What a contrast to England, it was in Italy! You could relax there with your kids - it was lovely. We also used to book holidays at places specifically geared for children - it made our time there much more enjoyable.

I quite envy today's parents - their children can go into pubs with them, be welcomed in restaurants and cafes and even have soft play areas provided for the younger ones in various places. I also find that I like seeing their vitality and energy. I don't like rudeness, but I'm glad to say I don't see much of that, if I'm honest. Since my granddaughter was born, I enjoy other people's children in a way I never did when I had my own. I suppose I've mellowed! I smile a lot at little ones, and am very happy when some lovely little girl or boy starts to chat to me on the bus. My younger self would look at me in amazement!

I think the idea of a quiet room in a pub is actually a pretty good idea, but today's pubs just seem like one open space, don't they? There aren't separate bars in most of them, like in my day. I even remember public bars with sawdust on the floor! They were going out of fashion, thankfully, by the time I was old enough to notice them, but in the past, taverns must have been very rough old places! We had saloons and the lounge bar in the Sixties. At one time you paid more for drinks in the 'posher' bar! I would not like a return to that, or to pubs being choked up with cigarette smoke, as they were when I was young, and so it was a good job, back then, that children were not allowed in.

My main issue with pubs is the often loud music and the big screen tv. I don't like either of these, and they put me off going to pubs. When on holiday we try to find pubs with 'character' - they are getting harder to find - the big screen dominates and spoils too many of them - and that is my bit of 'grump' about a night at the pub!

I recall a few years ago I was in a pub having lunch with a friend. A couple with a child (around 6 years old) came in and sat at a nearby table. The child was noisy and excited but that was fine. After the meal the child got up and started running around, ignored by parents, taking things off tables and generally being a nuisance. He came up to our table and started picking up various things. My friend turned to him and in her best school teacher voice quietly said "go away". The boy look shocked went back to his parents table and sat there for the rest of our stay!

I recently had a meal with 2 gc & their parents in a lovely Devon gastro pub. Unusually, they were impeccably behaved! The 9 year old found the pub chess set and played with her Dad and the 6 year old played a game on DDs phone while waiting for the food. However, a 30 something couple sitting at the next table made us feel extremely uncomfortable, and I'm no prude. They sat next to each other, legs entwined, hands all over the place, kissing passionately- all we needed to complete the scene were the noises off. Eventually they left, DD commenting that they were no doubt off to find a hotel room to complete the act evening! Give me a pub full of (well behaved) kids & dogs any day ..

Children in pubs and restaurants are ok with me, as long as they behave well like Spanish and French children do. Our grandchildren bring their tablets to our family forays out, and their ear phones. Easy enough and cheap enough to do.

It always used to be that children were welcome until 9pm, then it is adult time. Which I think is perfectly reasonable. However, there seems to be no etiquette now. Kids running around screaming when people are carrying glasses. Bored, tired kids being ignored by parents. We rarely took ours out in the evening, but when we did, they were expected to behave! Just basic manners! I do agree that groups of shrieking women can be just as bad. Letting us down ladies!

Me too Jalima. I was in a very nice restaurant in Chester yesterday; it was very busy with every table occupied and very little room to squeeze between the tables. At the table next to us were a young family; parents, 2 small children and a pug dog. The children were very well behaved. The dog was not. It was tied to the table leg by its lead and every time a waiter tried to walk past, with plates of hot food and drinks, the dog ran out from under the table, yapping and and yelping at them. The owners gave an occasional tug on the lead but otherwise it ignored it. But worst of all was the snorting and snuffling from the wretched beast. It snorted and snored constantly, like it had a heavy cold and was really off putting when youre eating a meal. Pugs never were my favourite breed of dog but having had to sit next to them in a restaurant and listen to them when im eating has made me dislike them even more. Dogs should not be in restaurants imo.

That's interesting justwokeup - I have noticed several dogs in various eating establishments recently and was quite surprised. They were not guide dogs.
I'm assuming that, if there ever were any rules against bringing dogs into cafes or restaurants, they have been relaxed or abandoned.

The worst case we encountered of bad behaviour in a restaurant (not a bar!) was when we stayed at a well-reviewed and expensive hotel/restaurant on the south coast for a special anniversary. From one large party there was continuous calling out and wandering from table to table. Food, which had obviously been carefully prepared and presented, was being carried around and waiters impeded. Our long-anticipated fine dining experience, and that of other diners who had no doubt similarly looked forward to their evening out, was completely ruined. We had travelled hundreds of miles for this appalling behaviour. Yet there wasn't a child in the party! How adults think it's acceptable to wear beach wear in any restaurant is beyond me, but the behaviour and lack of consideration for other diners was astounding. These, of course, are the same parents who have no problem with their children wandering around in a restaurant. When we complained the waiter apologised and said had they known the party would be so bad-mannered they would have served them in a separate outside room as it was also bad publicity for the restaurant. But, obviously, they could not really do anything then as there were about 40 guests involved.

As for children, I think a bar is an inappropriate place for them, but they definitely should learn the enjoyment of eating out with their parents, as long as said parents put away their phones and talk to their children!

Dogs are a different matter. Having been penned into our table by 2 extremely large dogs lying on the floor, on a visit to a local cafe-bar lately, I was already quite annoyed when the waitress serving food patted them. We won't be going back! Surely basic hygiene, which seems to be going downhill in most restaurants lately, should prevent dogs from being taken into eating establishments. Don't get me started on how long we seem to spend clearing tables before we eat... Grumpy old woman alert!

I live in a European country and find the attitude of Brits in the UK to children in pubs and restaurants mystifying.
We don’t really do babysitters, so always go out with our DS to restaurants and bars (not pubs) and sometimes stay out till ooh 9.30 and it’s not a problem at all, completely normal. Here, the necessity to have ‘adult drinking time’ is just not so pervasive. And I like it much better. I like hanging out with our DS! And he loves eating out. I personally never had a meal in a restaurant until I was 17! So I would say things have changed in our world but maybe not yours OP!

PECS how many continental countries have you been out eating late in the evening. I have experienced 7 different as well as Japan, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia. I have never seen children behaving how they are allowed to in the UK. Speaking with a lot of people in those countries about their children being out later in the evening and almost being invisible I have been advisedby many that children are allowed to be children up to what we would regard as tea/dinner time 6 - 7 pm but after that they are with adults and if they want to be given that priviledge then they have to accept they have to behave by joining them and taking part in the group. This then helps the children to understand how to behave around adults and socialise. We don't seem to do that here, probably too much work for some and the current thinking of children should be allowed to express themselves no matter how intrusive on others.

Unfortunately, as many posters on this thread have pointed out, some parents take their children out and then proceed to ignore them. The children then behave badly and annoy other diners. Hardly surprising. No parent should allow their child/children to behave badly ie noisily, run around, upset other diners, unfortunately if they do, it gives the wrong message to the children who then grow up to disrespect other people, and it spoils the dining experience for other customers who may not be able to afford to eat out very often themselves!

Children should behave well, and it’s up to parents to ensure they do. We took our own children out when they were small and they always behaved well, they were well aware of our expectations. And we often dine out with our grandchildren who also always behave well, despite their very young age. That is because their parents ensure they behave well and also provide crayons, books etc.

Continental children do dine out with their family, but the expectation is that the children behave properly. That is why it is perfectly pleasant to dine out abroad even when children are out quite late with their parents. And because the expectations of some British parents are so low (thankfully only some parents) that is the reason that sometimes dining out in Britain is a distinctly unpleasant experience.

I everyone. I was living on Malta being the Mediterranean area where you take your children out, with you, unless specifically requested, none. Most are pretty well behaved I think because they’re introduced to going out at a very early age.p, the waiters and restaurant staff rebuke if necessary, don’t think parents here will allow that.
However there is always one! Some parents today think the children will morph by themselves into acceptable behaviour, I shudder to imagine these unruly kids will be as teenagers.

The notice in a pub I was in the other day made me smile it read CHILDREN ARE WELCOME HOWEVER NOISY UNRULY CHILDREN WILL BE PUT INTO A PIE THANKYOU

KatyK lots of restaurants in the Lakes are dog friendly. They know which side their bread is buttered. My dog stays under the table, you wouldn't know he was there. As for children picking their noses and wiping it on the table is unhygienic.

Everyone seems to thinks we should put up with children's bad behaviour. We were rarely taken out to eat when young but always had to sit nicely at the table until finished. It certainly did not harm us.

I find it strange that people take their children to pubs especially on a Friday/Saturday night. It is irritating for those of us that want a nice relaxing drink. The kids are bored, but the parents don't care. So selfish.

PECS I don’t view kids as an alien species and do take the dgc out when we are on holiday. They can behave!! However, we cannot afford to go out often, and when we do go out for a treat the last thing I want is having rude and unruly children, whose parents couldn’t care less about anyone else but their party, running around spoiling my night out.