Thursday, May 14, 2009
Drinks / Good advice / Restaurants Now, What About Kids in Bars?
Posted by Nicki Wood on Thu, May 14, 2009 at 9:19 AM
According to a recent thread on this site, Bites readers hold widely varying opinions about dogs in restaurants. We're not dog people in our house, but we occasionally find ourselves in a bar with our middle schooler. As long as we keep her tied up outside don't stay more than 40 minutes, it seems to work just fine. Big bonus: she knows how to hail the bartender and order a Shirley Temple and an Arnold Palmer, and is practicing tying a knot in a cherry stem with her tongue!
What do you all think: bad parental example, annoying to other customers, or good clean fun?
Comments (17)
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Kids in bars....no thank you. One of the many reasons people go to bars is to get away from their kids. Not all of us have/want kids and I don't think we should all have to subjected to everyone else's children. I am not a children hater, but a bar is no place for a child anyways, not with the drunks, smoking, and the language being thrown around in most bars. I feel the same way about kids in R-rated movies...in the past months I have been to three R rated movies, where I witnessed several couples bring in several children under 3 years old. Trying to watch a movie while listening to a baby crying is no fun for anyone...sorry people but if you couldn't find a babysitter than stay home...that is the price of being a parent. Don't make all of us listen to that b/c you were being selfish.
LOL, I grew up with my family owning a restaurant/bar and my sisters and I could all tie a cherry stem with our tongues by age 10. I think putting a bowl of cherries in front of kids is a fairly common way to entertain them in such establishments!
If it's a bar that also serves food, I'm all for kids being allowed up to a certain time of day. I believe back home (in WA state) that hour is 8pm and that seems about right to me. There are places that happen to be bars that serve great food, if a family wants to come in for dinner that's cool but after that it should be an adult place.
What constitutes a bar? The line between Bar/Lounge/Restaurant can be pretty thin to non-existent. Is the Family Wash a bar or a restaurant? Where is line drawn?
That being said - I have no problem with kids in bars, as long as their parents are there. In my state of origin kids could drink in bars - as long as Mom or Dad were buying.
Our 8-year old has been frequenting the bar in such establishments as Outback, J. Alexanders, etc. since he was in a baby carrier (yes, A BABY IN A BAR!, heh). I would feel more uncomfortable if it were the bar of a more upscale restaurant that generally doesn't require a wait, and probably wouldn't take him somewhere that was a bar only (not a restaurant bar). I would never subject other patrons to a crying baby, nor loud, boisterous behavior. Our son regularly dines in nice restaurants and knows what is expected of him -- sit in his chair, talk quietly, be courteous to the servers/bartenders, etc.
Whenever this conversation comes up, I am struck by the fact that many of these "adults" who do not want kids in the bars are not offended by those over 21 acting far worse than toddlers.
When our kids were young, we took them with us often, but like the above commenter, they knew how to behave appropriately, and on the extremely rare occasions when they didn't, we left.
I wish I could say the same for the many loud, obnoxious, abusive, arrogant, etc adults that we have had to abide through dinner at tables next to us at restaurants of all types from bar type joints to high end expensive restaurants.
12 South Taproom is one thing (kid-friendly). The Red Door is another altogether. Certain places work better than others
I have no problem with kids or dogs in bars provided they behave. But I know a lot worse words than the F one, and I say them loudly, so when bringing children to a bar, parents need to accept the often less-than-wholesome atmosphere in watering holes.
If I were ever reprimanded for my conversation due to someone's children being present, it would surely turn ugly.
if they can tie cherry stems in knots with their tongues, you can use them to win bets and get free drinks. It's a win-win to me.
Jim, I believe you're onto something there. She could be an asset rather than a liabiity, financially speaking.
Kids in bars during the day are great. When I lived in the UK, parents would come by on Sundays while they talked to each other and read the papers, and it was a fun, warm atmosphere.
Kids in bars at night = deeply creepy atmosphere that leads to the kind of horrible stories one reads in the Leaf Chronicle or sees on Fox 17 News at Nine that have led me to associate Clarksville with drunken parents and child neglect.
I think it depends on what percentage of the patrons are there for a meal. If the mood is darts, billiards and Camel cigarettes, that pretty much overrides any other logic. If it is primarily a restaurant with a small percentage of bar flies, no problem.
And Hooters does not count, just a little creepy. Plus, if we are talking about babies, too much boob may not be all that good. You never know, they may start trying to suck.
Well, I'm an only child and often we wouldn't want to wait for a table at a restaurant so the three of us would just sit at the bar. I was well-behaved and I sat quietly, read or talked with my parents. I didn't expect the other patrons to not cuss or change their actions (drinking or otherwise). Now, it should be noted it was at family-type places or semi-nice places. I wasn't at Sunset Grille, Cabana or Hooters. I was a kid sitting at the bar, not a kid in a bar if that makes sense.
In case you're wondering I turned out fine, and I'm not scarred for it. Sometimes you'll get odd looks, but often it just makes sense for you to have your kids with you at the bar. As with dogs, it depends on the place and the kids.
There are different types of bars my aunt owns a sports bar where no kids allowed after 8pm when the drinking crew comes in and the setting looks much more like a dinning room with big televisions. The food is great so from time to time we will go have dinner there. I believe that is ok but when it comes to kids sitting at the bar waiting with parents drinking bad idea.
I agree with Ryan in that it's more about how late it is. A kid in a bar around dinner time isn't too bad, but I get uncomfortable once it's late and I feel like the kid should be in bed.
do you mean in 'the bar' meaning a physical location (i.e., room) that is separate from the dining room and happens to contain the bar behind which the bartender performs their tasks, or do you mean the bar itself, regardless of what room it is in?
I ask because I consider the bar-bar, the place the bartender tends, sacred ground and inviolate. It is adults only. In most states, this isn't an issue, as no one who is not able to purchase liquor is even allowed there in the first place. But it is not a place to substitue for a children's waiting room with Hi-Life copies nearby for you to feign interest in. Standing or sitting there is something you earn. You wait. You tick off birthdays like credits at school, becoming worthy of being in that place with other adults with every passing year, with each responsibility and privilege gained and granted. You watch, you study, you bide your time until you are old enough to claim that space as your own. Then you approach with confidence, walk up and proudly set your foot on the rail below and hands on the bar above, say hello, state your purpose and, offering a salute to all within earshot with your delivered beverage, stay as long as you want, chatting or not as you see fit. You deserve that spot, not because your table isn't ready or your babysitters refuse to return no matter the wage offered, but because you are an adult and ready to face adult challenges, engage in adult repartee and drink adult beverages (responsibly, of course), with other adults.
But the bar, as in the room that is not typically the dining room, is ok for short periods, at a table, under the direct attention of the adults that brought you, and with proper respect for the others in the room. In other words, it is not the obligation or purpose of any other person in that room to entertain you, find you cute, amazingly talented or otherwise extraordinary in any other way other than not being at least 21 in a room for those who are.
Having said that, if you're the only people in the room and your kid is dying to swing their feet from the stool and play big person with their pretend drink, and if the bartender says it's ok, then by all means, go for it. But if I'm sitting there, at least ask first. Then we can talk about the extraordinary opportunity presented to teach courtesy by example. Who knows, I might even buy the round, including the Shirley Temple.
