Today, we decided to go to the local pub for lunch. It was, mostly, very nice. The food was nice, the beer was good, the staff were pleasant.
However, one thing wasn’t so good, and it’s really starting to bother me.
Children. Badly behaved, noisy children, running round and round, repeatedly ringing the bell at the bar. On other visits, they’ve been running up and down the seating too.
Now, a quick reality check. I don’t have children, which is a little bit unusual at my age, so there’s the possibility of me having a distorted view through being famously intolerant, and not used to it, but not *all* kids annoy me. Hell, some of them can even be nice.
I don’t mind the presence of children or teenagers, and I have nieces and nephews. Am I that far out of whack when I think that a pub (with the notable exeception of Wacky Warehouse type establishments) should primarily be an adult space, so if kids are they they should behave? Is it unreasonable of me to expect parents to keep their children entertained and under control (let’s face it, pubs are probably quite boring for kids) ?
At what point did it become acceptable to let your kids annoy all and sundry just so you can have a drink or do whatever else you like? Is this just another aspect of the increasingly greedy, selfish, screw you society we live in? Should we all love all of the little darlings?
Am I being overly grumpy about this, or are my complaints justified? Talking to friends and family that do have children suggests I’m not that far off the mark
I’ve not kids either and I agree with you that they shouldn’t be in pubs – pubs should be adult spaces for a number of reasons. Eating at pubs is probably different and when I’ve been with my N+N, they’ve been made to behave by my Sis or given a “talking to” by the B-I-L.
The worst example I’ve ever seen was The Duke of Cambridge after Ron had died. There were small children there at closing time on a Sunday – they were more than tired and should have been in bed hours before, but the chav parents were more interested in another lager and a smoke than the welfare of their kids. It was quite depressing really.
Part of our societies current problem is the lack of adequate parenting skills. A problem that needs remedying soon.
Bang on old chap. Pubs are no place for kids. Hate to see it. Restaurants – certainly. Old school boozers – definitely not.
Many people indulge in a beer to get away from that kind of thing for a bit; they’re not sociopaths, just adults sensibly taking time out.
Like me, you’d test DNA positive for Meldrew, but on this, you’re cock-on.
Best wishes
Bob
Oh the irony.
The only time my kids go in a pub is when we meet you in there.
AND we just had a text asking us if we wanted to meet you down the pub 🙂
@MarkyB
No irony at all.
Your kids don’t run around and around annoying everyone, or we wouldn’t be asking you to come to the pub…
Thats OK then, they must only be extremely annoying at home then.
Maybe, but that’s your problem.