The "No Kids Allowed" Movement

Post Reply New Topic

What do you make of all these businesses with their "no kids allowed" policies (or Brat Bans)? Personally, I think it's about time. Children are given more priority than is reasonable, whether it's for commercial appeal (such as with the entertainment industry) or enforcing counterproductive public policies (such as the War on Drugs).

I think it has nothing to do with the priority of children and everything to do with whether or not the atmosphere is appropriate for children.

Most people consider whether a place is child-appropriate based on things like sex and violence and whether or not a child will be at all safe, but i think it also applies to whether or not there is an expectation of appropriate behavior that children are unlikely to be able to conform to.

We have restaurants with dress codes and nobody seems to complain that they can't have a five star dinner while wearing their favorite pair of ripped jeans and a Bon Jovi t-shirt.

Why should they complain when they find out that they also can't do it with a noisy 2 year old in tow?

Get a sitter.

^ total agreement. Kids are great, but sometimes adults want kid-free time. If a couple has gone to the effort and expense of finding and paying a sitter and making reservations at a nice restaurant, they shouldn't have their evening ruined by a family who couldn't be bothered to be as thoughtful of their fellow diners.

Kids do need to learn how to behave when they go out, but they can do that at a Denny's as well as at an 'adult' restaurant.

It's about time!

All children and old people should be banned from public!

I'm all for getting sitters if sitter is code for concentration camp.

And if the State in Big Brother's ineffable wisdom defines the window as 25 through 40?

Meh, they wouldn't do that...

I'm thinking 20 to 65 (unless you agree to give up social security).

Excellent topic. A steakhouse just opened in my brother's city which has apparently generated some controversy because no children under 12 are allowed. According to him, commentary on their website is some
"I would NEVER frequent an establishment where my family isn't welcome!"
with a lot of
"That's okay. Me and my family/buddies/girlfriend will more than make up for you, just to be able to eat in peace without hearing your brat scream."

I'm hyper-sensitive to noise, so it's an intense subject.
If I screamed at the top of my lungs, I would be escorted out of a restaurant, or at least sternly-warned.
If I'm a child, I can do that. On end. For hours. And no one will dare say boo.

As my dad would say, "If I wanted to hear bad kids and worse parenting, I'd be content to go to McDonald's and pay a much cheaper price".

You have more faith in your government than I have in mine.

Everybody says "they would never do that" until it happens

Doesn't matter to me - not only am I past your 65 boundary, but I am a multiply Green Monkey and will be sent to a camp or euphemized before this rule comes into force.

To me this less about the kids and more about their parents.

I still remember working at an Olive Garden for seven years and many families where parents would calmly eat their meals while their kids would run all over the restaurant, throw crayons and bread, and the message we got from the parents is that our kids can do what they want and, if you have anything to say about it we have the high hand on the pendulum - we'll deal with you and get our meals for free.

Since in our society at presennt you have absolutely no right to correct another person's kids, IMHO, its a given that adults who parent like this should be screened out as a matter of course for restaurants with meals averaging $20 or more (at least here - in more expensive areas figure 3 1/2 star and up). Since you can't discriminate it means no kids. If they come in without their kids I suppose that's their business, the damage of a waiter getting a 5 or 10% tip is still better than having a four star restaurant turned into a make-shift Chucky Cheese and everyone else's dining experience effected.

Blink. Wide-eyed stare. Head scratching.

Hardly daring do ask why a sound-sensitive [I tend to be with you there] screams so loud in print.

^^^ Don't feel bad, everyone hasta go sometime. You'll go from Green Monkey to Soylent Green and never even notice. Enjoy the show.

Something like this should have been brought in British pubs a long time ago.

Frequently, British pubs have "Children Welcome" signs on the front of the door. You go in at weekends and the children are often running riot and interrupting other people whilst the parents are drinking. It isn't a nice atmosphere and it spoils it for other customers. Sometimes mothers even pick their children up from school, take them to the nearest pub and then spend the next hour or two getting blotto! It's not a fun place to be. A lot of parents are mistaking the likes of "Family Friendly" and "Children Welcome" to mean that a drinking pub is suitable for children in the supervised Wacky Warehouse sense rather than in the "children are welcome with parents for meals only if they're well-behaved" sense. Pubs are often very boring places too if you're a child, when (pre-smoking ban) many of them just served beer in the afternoons. Children may be OK in a pub if the parent has one pint but any more than that and they understandably get restless. What's in it for them?

It really is a dire situation because children are usually absolutely fine when they're well behaved as in much of mainland - and especially Southern - Europe.

There is a little more I have to say on this but I think I'll leave it for a little while and come back with a photo or two.

True - and it's the reason our society is becoming more and more paedophobic. Why would anyone want to eat out if they have to deal with that nonsense? The quality of food in many places is falling anyway, so as well as that there's no point paying extra money for beer and extra money for food if the experience is going to be unpleasant.



I'd love to see them try that in a circumstance where the entire restaurant backs you up.

It doesn't even need to be child-free: all it needs is that kids are quiet, well-behaved, engage the adults in conversation and don't scream and run about the place, tipping old Ted's pint over.

If its your restaurant and no one else is above you - yes. If its a corporate and you're a manager - no.

No, I meant it more in the sense that every other customer in the branch is baying for the couple's blood kind-of sense. Unlikely to happen - especially here in the UK - but still.