Children in pubs

**anto1208** · 25/03/2008, 10:04 AM

I popped up to the local last Sunday from some grub and a pint to watch the match and the place was basically a cr�che, What is the story in this country with people bringing there kids to the pub its disgraceful out of the parents to take them in the first place then the sit there getting ****ed up while there little offspring�s run riot.

Im not necessarily saying they should be banned but at the very least made to sit down, In the bar near me there are a few steps 3 or 4 from the level with the seats to the level with the bar and the kids where running top speed and launching them selves of them, sprinting around the bar at top speed with the barmaid trying to carry out hot plates of food and people trying to carry there pints back to the table. All the time screaming so loud it drowns out the TV.

And the parents sit there as if this is normal behaviour and if you tell them to control there brats they act as if its you in the wrong!!! We even got told to watch what we where talking about and not to be cursing because there kids where around!!

**superfrank** · 25/03/2008, 12:26 PM

I agree.

Pubs are for adults. If people want to bring their kids there they should find some way to control them, or just don't bring them.

**Angus** · 25/03/2008, 4:40 PM

Agree - but we are all missing the point - what kind of selfish, self obsessed, parent brings children to a pub when the paretns are drinking ?

Now, I am leaving aside meals - we all bring children to pubs for meals and have a beer / glass of wine etc but I draw the line at the point when the kids lose interest and start running around.

There is a huge difference between children being in a pub where the setting is essentially a restaurant and the situation where the kid drinks 6 glasses of Fanta, has 4 bags of crsisp and then is hyper for the next few hours.

Sorry but your responsibility as a parent outweighs your rights to be in a pub. If you can afford to go drinking, you can afford a babysitter.

**pete** · 25/03/2008, 5:44 PM

Bar managers have a big responsibility too as uncontrolled kids a liability if they fall & hurt themselves. No problem with controlled kids but if parents can't control kids because they downing pints then to stay at home.

Pubs are not for kids just like creches not for afternoon pints.

**Sam_Heggy** · 26/03/2008, 10:20 AM

Totally agree, myself and the missus brought our 3 year old daughter into town on Paddys day, we were in around 2ish and the parade started around 3 so we went into the pub for a drink and a seat while we waited. There was Kids everywhere and try explaining to a 3 year old why she can't run around like the other kids.
There was 2 kids in particular that really bugged everyone, the parents hadn't a clue where they were (and didn't seem too bothered either) and the kids ran riot under tables, around peoples legs, behind the bar, it was really ****ing people off. We ended up leaving and walked around the streets 'til the parade started.

**placid casual** · 26/03/2008, 12:15 PM

I have a 6 month old myself .
Me and her will go to the pub when she's 17 and she can buy me a drink.
Before that she aint goin in. not with me anyway.
kids should not be allowed in pubs at any time. the parents are invariably vermin who have no control over themselves let alone their offspring

**passinginterest** · 26/03/2008, 12:38 PM

Originally Posted by placid casual

I have a 6 month old myself .
Me and her will go to the pub when she's 17 and she can buy me a drink.
Before that she aint goin in. not with me anyway.
kids should not be allowed in pubs at any time. the parents are invariably vermin who have no control over themselves let alone their offspring

Bit of a generalisation, and a poor way to introduce a child to pubs and alcohol.
Denying a child access to pubs only increases the mystique and attractiveness of them in my opinion.

I spent a fair bit of time in pubs as a child, both my parents played darts and so did I. Neither drinks and I was never allowed to run wild. I spend very little time in pubs these days, seeing a load of smelly drunks as you grow up is a great way to ruin the esteemed position of the pub in Irish eyes.

I'd have no time for parents who take kids to the pub, then abandon them and let them run wild, as they get hammered in the corner. It's a bit different if they're supervised and parents have a bit of sense, especially now that pubs are smoke free and the majority serve food. The rare occasion I'm in a pub these days will be for food, or the odd time to be sociable, as most Irish people still can't seem to see beyond the pub as a venue for a get together.

**paul_oshea** · 26/03/2008, 1:00 PM

as most Irish people still can't seem to see beyond the pub as a venue for a get together.

I can, Ive tried, done it on the continent manys a time, and I definitely cant see beyond the pub for a get-together. It cannot be beaten and its one of the things that all tourists will tell you about Ireland, if you could bottle it, you could sell it, and if you could sell it you would be a millionaire. It saddens me the thought of people trying to quell or change this. Its something uniquely Irish, and it is something we should most definitely cherish and try to keep, thankfully the tourist board cop this and have been doing their utmost to do so.

**DaveyCakes** · 26/03/2008, 1:23 PM

How are pubs uniquely Irish?

**anto1208** · 26/03/2008, 1:30 PM

I dont have any problem with kids in bars on the odd occasion say family reunion etc even not too bothered about the families that go for dinner and make the kids sit there with them.

Its just the ones that let them run around and think everyone else is thinking ah arent they so cute . recently we had one mother who took the decoratiosn off the xmas tree because her brat wanted it he then proceeded to thrown this up in the air hitting people every time had another kid runnign over and back on the couches bouncing.

You say that they should nt be in the pub and you get the responce of "are we not entitled to a drink" !!! well no your not dont have kids if you want a great social life or at least get a babysitter

**sadloserkid** · 26/03/2008, 1:31 PM

Originally Posted by passinginterest

The rare occasion I'm in a pub these days will be for food, or the odd time to be sociable, as most Irish people still can't seem to see beyond the pub as a venue for a get together.

I'm with you passinginterest. For whatever reason this fabled Irish/British pub experience has always left me fairly cold. No problem in holding up my hand and saying that marks me as a bit weird in Ireland but it's a cross I'm fairly happy to carry.

Also children in pubs bugs the hell out of me too. Work in a convenience store myself and on Sundays in particular we get the same kids coming in about once an hour to top up their junk food as their parents strive not to let the kids get in the way of dulling their own senses of inertia and failure as they try and get some good old pub stories together to keep them sane for the upcomig working week.

**jebus** · 26/03/2008, 1:37 PM

Originally Posted by sadloserkid

I'm with you passinginterest. For whatever reason this fabled Irish/British pub experience has always left me fairly cold. No problem in holding up my hand and saying that marks me as a bit weird in Ireland but it's a cross I'm fairly happy to carry.

Also children in pubs bugs the hell out of me too. Work in a convenience store myself and on Sundays in particular we get the same kids coming in about once an hour to top up their junk food as their parents strive not to let the kids get in the way of dulling their own senses of inertia and failure as they try and get some good old pub stories together to keep them sane for the upcomig working week.

Yeah but you don't drink and so don't count

**anto1208** · 26/03/2008, 1:39 PM

I do enjoy the pub when i go, its not a major attraction for me but on a sat or sunday i might have some grub watch the matches as i dont have sky sports maybe a few pints. I think its more down to the individual pub. If you get a good pub its great but the vast majority of pubs are really poor .

The new wave of young people pubs where they cram you in standing up turn up the music so you cant hear anything and serve up slop in a glass has really ruined the pub experience i love the "old man bars" where you can have a chat a sit down a decent pint then head of to the clubs if you want the standing up shouting experience.

**jebus** · 26/03/2008, 1:43 PM

Originally Posted by anto1208

The new wave of young people pubs where they cram you in standing up turn up the music so you cant hear anything and serve up slop in a glass has really ruined the pub experience i love the "old man bars" where you can have a chat a sit down a decent pint then head of to the clubs if you want the standing up shouting experience.

I hear that. The absolute holes that pass for a 'decent pub' in Dublin astounds me. I have yet to find one where you can go at night and not be constantly annoyed by the sound levels and generally lack of decent human beings in the surrounding area.

As much as I wish it would be washed out to sea (

) I have to say that Cork is by far and away the best of the cities for pubs. Hi-B, the Bodhran, the Oval and Sin E to name but a few top notch pubs in the city centre

**noby** · 26/03/2008, 1:46 PM

Originally Posted by jebus

I have yet to find one where you can go at night and not be constantly annoyed by the sound levels and generally lack of decent human beings in the surrounding area.

You should try the Bull & Castle. Great beer menu too.

**jebus** · 26/03/2008, 1:48 PM

Originally Posted by noby

You should try the Bull & Castle. Great beer menu too.

That was the name I was trying to think of, really nice landlady as well, chatted away to myself and a friend one night about the state of the small pub industry in Ireland (my mother owns a small bar so it interests me), shameful that pubs like hers could be a thing of the past in oncoming times. At least I hope it's the Bull & Castle given the glowing recommendation it's recieving here!

**noby** · 26/03/2008, 1:51 PM

Next to ChristChurch?

**jebus** · 26/03/2008, 1:53 PM

Originally Posted by noby

Next to ChristChurch?

Not the one I was thinking of, but I've been in that pub a few times(used to live in the Coombe close by) and I have to say that I'd give it a mixed review. I've had a couple of good nights in there, but others that have been pretty poor, granted those nights usually were ruined by a bunch of drunken Engerlanders being attracted to the bar by it's name. Food is very good though

**noby** · 26/03/2008, 1:55 PM

Anyway, I have brought, and will continue to bring my kids to the pub. Mostly for something to eat; preferably one with a beer garden/outdoor play area, and we only stay long enough that the kids aren't getting too restless. Bringing the buggy while you go for an afternoon session, watching 'Grand Slam Sunday' is not something I would do.

Originally Posted by jebus

Not the one I was thinking of, but I've been in that pub a few times(used to live in the Coombe close by) and I have to say that I'd give it a mixed review. I've had a couple of good nights in there, but others that have been pretty poor, granted those nights usually were ruined by a bunch of drunken Engerlanders being attracted to the bar by it's name. Food is very good though

They do good food alright, and the beer hall is usually not too full. Those 'Engerlanders ' must have gotten lost on their way to Temple Bar.

Originally Posted by sadloserkid

I'm with you passinginterest. For whatever reason this fabled Irish/British pub experience has always left me fairly cold.

Nobody likes 'smelly drunks', and kids in pubs and 'get together's all have a time and a place, but whiling away an afternoon in a quiet pub, reading the newspaper and enjoying a couple of pints is one of my favourite ways to pass the time (not that I get much of an opportunity these days).