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Babies in Bars
- Thread starter barkomatic
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So...... in a few months will you be available to babysit so that my wife and I can go to a nice restaurant and a movie? You can take anything you'd like from the fridge.......
So...... in a few months will you be available to babysit so that my wife and I can go to a nice restaurant and a movie? You can take anything you'd like from the fridge.......
Sure! I plan on babysitting once in a while for friends of mine here. I've watched my four nieces and nephews several times. In that case, the only one in any danger was me.
Christ, those kids are rough. I always walk away with some sort of damage after seeing those little twerps. Hey, where did your devil man picture go? I liked that guy
He could possibly return sometime soon.
Sounds like a deal to me! If you don't mind, keep some beer in the fridge.
Sorry, only hard liquor and unlocked handguns will be allowed around my future-kids......
Sure! I plan on babysitting once in a while for friends of mine here. I've watched my four nieces and nephews several times. In that case, the only one in any danger was me.
Lee, I think I live a little far away from you for a night of babysitting.
Thanks for the offer though
I knew something looked off.....
Lee, I think I live a little far away from you for a night of babysitting.
Thanks for the offer though
Fly me out! After you guys get back home for the night, I'll trot right over to Santa Monica Blvd- ah, The Abbey and The Gold Coast.
Fly me out! After you guys get back home for the night, I'll trot right over to Santa Monica Blvd- ah, The Abbey and The Gold Coast.
If we ever get desperate enough for a babysitter, I'll PM you.
I do live around 15 minutes away from the the area you're talking about.
What about Rage? That seems to be the hotspot.
Oh, and Hamburger Mary's is awesome...... disco ball in the bathroom FTW!
In my opinion babies and bars simply don't go together. It is silly for parents to bring them into that type of environment. Like someone else here recommended: if you want to go for a night out, hire a babysitter.
If we ever get desperate enough for a babysitter, I'll PM you.
I do live around 15 minutes away from the the area you're talking about.
What about Rage? That seems to be the hotspot.
Oh, and Hamburger Mary's is awesome...... disco ball in the bathroom FTW!
Ugh- Rage is OK. Got a bit of attitude there though. And we have a Hamburger Mary's here!
It is indeed- in makeup with rubber horns.
Agree with this. I know for one I wouldn't even want to take my infant or toddler into a bar. A lot of times there is smoke and even if not then I wouldn't want to risk some drunk idiot knocking them off the chair.
Agreed, they don't belong there.
I really don't understand the mindset of these parents who do this. Why would you even want to bring your kids to a restaurant/bar? For me at least it would make it totally unenjoyable.
I really don't understand the mindset of these parents who do this. Why would you even want to bring your kids to a restaurant/bar? For me at least it would make it totally unenjoyable.
I have no problems with kids in bars, so long as it's not too late and it's not a dive bar.
First, you can't smoke in a lot of jurisdictions in the US anymore (TS is referred to Brooklyn, where you can't). So the smoke thing is a non issue.
Second, what are you whinging about if someone brings a kid to a bar/restaurant at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon? Again, we're talking about infants. The 1 year old doesn't know if he's in a bar/restaurant or just a restaurant. How does this harm him/her? Besides, if it's a family oriented place with a bar, what's the problem? The way I figure it, if the joint provides high chairs, then the establishment has made the decision to accept children.
Here's some example of local joints I don't mind taking my one year old twin nephews when I'm in town:
http://www.cafehon.com/
http://goldenwestcafe.com/
Bar/restaurant/live music, kids welcome in the afternoon, 21 and over after 9pm. There's plenty of places like this in this particular neighborhood. Most of the time, bar/restaurant owners are looking for ways to get people into the bar during off hours. I've seen bars promote knitting circles and the like.
Hell, the way some of you are talking, you'd think kids were ending up in strip clubs.
First, you can't smoke in a lot of jurisdictions in the US anymore (TS is referred to Brooklyn, where you can't). So the smoke thing is a non issue.
Second, what are you whinging about if someone brings a kid to a bar/restaurant at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon? Again, we're talking about infants. The 1 year old doesn't know if he's in a bar/restaurant or just a restaurant. How does this harm him/her? Besides, if it's a family oriented place with a bar, what's the problem? The way I figure it, if the joint provides high chairs, then the establishment has made the decision to accept children.
Here's some example of local joints I don't mind taking my one year old twin nephews when I'm in town:
http://www.cafehon.com/
http://goldenwestcafe.com/
Bar/restaurant/live music, kids welcome in the afternoon, 21 and over after 9pm. There's plenty of places like this in this particular neighborhood. Most of the time, bar/restaurant owners are looking for ways to get people into the bar during off hours. I've seen bars promote knitting circles and the like.
Hell, the way some of you are talking, you'd think kids were ending up in strip clubs.
Not cool.
Nice.
OP should use this to make a t-shirt with "not cool" text. =)
You can actually buy home printer sheets and iron them on some cheap plain t-shirts. Hey I just have a business idea... =p
I don't think anyone's really talking about that, though. Bars don't tend to be social places at 3pm. And it depends on the venue too. I'm not going to get all bent out of shape if I'm at a place like Chili's, Olive Garden, etc. I'm not saying parents can't eat out with their kids.
But a genuine bar at happy hour or later, or a nice restaurant - places where atmosphere is important - I find it disrespectful to bring your infant or small child to a place like that.
It seems that the bar owners have a different opinion than you then... If they believed it to be so unacceptable, they would not allow babies into their bar.
Here is how I handle it. Go to a bar that does not allow babies. Easy
It all boils down to personal preference. I'm sure many bar owners don't mind. Many do. They will create and enforce rules as necessary.
However, I agree with you entirely. If I had my way (owned/operated an establishment) I would not allow any kids under 18. I don't care what kind of establishment, or what I'm selling, I just can not stand kids of any age.
I get SO bothered when I am in a public place like a restaurant or movie or heck, even a grocery store, and there are kids causing problems everywhere. The other day I was at Rainbow Foods on a saturday around noon (MISTAKE, I am sticking to midnight grocery shopping as of now) and just about stroked out over all the little kids I had to swerve around with my cart. I was legitimately worked up, despite my smooth temperment.
I don't plan on having kids until I can hire a sitter to keep them at home and out of the innocent bystanders hair
Not really. In the article, it was stated that some patrons complained who were smoking *outside* that they were asked to not smoke by the parents bringing their kids into the bar. Apparently, the parents didn't like the idea of wheeling the buggy past the smokers. Again, Park Slope parents demanding that adult places be made suitable for their kids.
Also, one of the parents featured went out because he wanted to socialize with adults--which I understand. He's not gonna be able to do that at 3pm on a Sunday afternoon. He'll be at the bar himself--and most bars in my area don't open much before 4pm. I've been to the bar he goes to -- and its not designed for children at all.
I think a solution might be for him to befriend a few other parents. They'll all take turns watching each other's kids while the adults go out by themselves. It will be a better time for all involved.
For those of you who may not be aware--we have quite the drinking culture in Brooklyn. This has been enabled by the fact that the subway system removes a major hurdle to drinking in other places--the need to be sober enough to drive home. Most people who drink don't here stop at a beer or two. It concerns me that it may become more common for parents to get really drunk in the presence of very young children and make some bad decisions.
You're right, they're not.
They're too busy beating up the straw man of a kid in a bar at 10pm, which I've almost never seen happen. I see kids in bar/restaurants in the afternoons, which IS what the linked article was discussing. The final quote of the article in question is a guy who says he takes his kid home before 7pm, before/about the time the bar starts filling up with evening patrons.
Bar owners would like them to be, though. Which is why there are full on bars that like it when social clubs/groups (literally, there's 2 bars in the area where I am now where 20-30 year old women get together to sit and knit twice a week) of all stripes choose their bars as meeting places. And many will provide booster seats. That's the owner making a conscientious that he values their patronage.
It's another matter if the bar is 21 and over only and checks IDs at the door.
Well, yeah. If we're talking about a bar/club/lounge, where the atmosphere IS the establishment, then kids aren't appropriate. The dance club, the dive bar, the meat market, obviously not a place for children. But that's not what we're talking about. Some people seem to be, but that's not what the article was referencing. Local eatery+bar hangouts in hipster/gentrified neighborhoods is what the issue seems to be, at least among the yuppie blogger crowd.
And yeah, if I'm shelling out 100+USD a plate for a meal, I don't want kids around either, but then again, most people aren't bringing kids and if they are, I'm not complaining unless they're disrupting my meal. But then again, a better establishment will have professional staff who are payed to deal with that sort of thing, so in my experience, this tends to be a pretty rare occurence.
BTW, I don't have kids and I probably won't.
I think it depends on the time of day, in the middle of the day it would be acceptable IMO, and not bad parenting.
Exactly.
I just moved out of Park Slope. Got tired of walking on egg shells around some of these Park Slope parents. They take up like 6 tables with all their baby stuff and there is no where for others to sit. You ask them to consolidate and they act like you just pulled a gun on them. You go to a bar on a Sunday afternoon to watch football, your team scores, you yell and they tell you to keep it down. They're constantly telling the bartender to turn the music down so yo can't even hear it.
It's the sense of entitlement and the way some of these parents dictate to others that is causing a lot of the tension.
I should have been more clear. I was responding to the smokey bar comments in this thread.
Obviously, the pushy parents shouldn't be there with his or her kid if they're offended by what happens in and around any drinking establishment.
I'll quote from the article:
And I don't know about you, but there's plenty of places in the areas of the states where I sort of live/hang out (Hampden, Baltimore; Adams Morgan/Dupont, DC), there are a great number of social establishments that are restaurants/coffee shops by day, bars by night. 3PM on Sunday afternoon is the neighborhood hanging out, watching football, drinking beer and shooting the ****. If someone is running errands with his or her kid and drops in for a couple beers, I'm glad to see them. And their kid, too.
Agreed.
But here's the the thing. Back in the day, this was a non issue. Mom stayed at home with the kids, dad went out and had drinks with his buddies. This is the way things still are in traditional societies. I've never seen kids in adult bars in Korea or Japan. OTOH, western society is changing. This is direct result of the modern, particularly urban, domestic relationship. This phenomenon was happening in parts of western Europe long before it started happening here in the states.
I see where you're coming from. The problem was idiocy on my end - I read the OP's post, but failed to notice that he linked to an article at the bottom.