Restaurant bans kids under 10

greyghost

greyghost

bumf*cknowhere
Apparently there's a bit of a blowup over this, but I'm on the side of the restaurant. We banned kids from our venue -- people DO NOT watch their kids, and can ruin everyone else's experience by not being taught HOW to behave. The restaurant noted liability reasons too - that's exactly why we finally put our foot down. A child was lost on our land for TWENTY MINUTES once. I pulled a three year old off the top rail of the deck once, with a 20 foot drop below. One child ran behind a moving bus and was rescued by my venue manager, who STILL has nightmares.
Parents need to step up more.

https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/new...-restaurant-bans-children-under-10-years-old/
 
I don't have a problem with it, movement might pick up steam in another 5 years or so in some places as folk that shouldn't have kids are forced to do so. Not fair to the parents that have the means and the want to raise well behaved kids but they may be put in such a minority in places that they'll have to accept temp banishment from some public places.
 
it's the same as with most things nowadays, instead of putting the parents in question in charge they'll just swat everyone. I don't have kids in that age, but if i had i'd be pissed.
 
Silent-Runner said:
it's the same as with most things nowadays, instead of putting the parents in question in charge they'll just swat everyone. I don't have kids in that age, but if i had i'd be pissed.
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How would you do it differently?
Ban just the parents with rotten kids? That gets personal.

Continue to take on the risk? In my case, any of those kids could have gotten seriously hurt or even DEAD. The three year old could have fallen to his death if his head hit one of the boulders there. The kid behind the bus could have hit his head on the concrete. The lost child could have been lost a very long time.
 
greyghost said:
How would you do it differently?
Ban just the parents with rotten kids? That gets personal.

Continue to take on the risk? In my case, any of those kids could have gotten seriously hurt or even DEAD. The three year old could have fallen to his death if his head hit one of the boulders there. The kid behind the bus could have hit his head on the concrete. The lost child could have been lost a very long time.
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of course i'd ban the parents with rotten kids. (just to make it clear, i'm talking about the restaurant situation, NOT your business).

As for your example, i can understand that absolutely. Still it seems "unfair" to those with well raised kids. But it's up to the parents to keep an eye on THEIR kids, if they fail to do so, then it's sad (on many levels actually) but not your responsibility, it's still theirs. I do understand your concerns, don't get me wrong. There's something fundamentally wrong if parents think that their responsibility magically moves over to you the moment they arrive at one of your weddings.
 
I definitely do not want to bring my kid to a restaraunt if he isnt going to sit still for very long (hes only 2) Every so often we'd give it a try though, and the place has to be family friendly.. I dont even go to the malls or anything with him (maybe once in awhile). WE'd just have someone watch him while we go out.
I was on a family trip last October and went to a restaraunt for a decent sized family dinner (aunts uncles grandma, cousins). The little guy ate for like 5mins then decided he had enough and wanted to run around the restaurant, up and down the isles. The first 2 or so times seemed ok to pique his interest but as he kept doing that i pretty much had to grab him and go outside and try to distract him with something else since after maybe once or twice seeing a kid running down the isle it starts becoming a distraction to the patrons . Everyone else just ate a quick as they possibly could then we high tailed it out of the restaurant.

I actually spend more time trying to keep him away from trouble than doing what i actually would do at wherever place.
 
greyghost said:
How would you do it differently?
Ban just the parents with rotten kids? That gets personal.

Continue to take on the risk? In my case, any of those kids could have gotten seriously hurt or even DEAD. The three year old could have fallen to his death if his head hit one of the boulders there. The kid behind the bus could have hit his head on the concrete. The lost child could have been lost a very long time.
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Waiver of liability and make it clear it is their obligation to watch and safeguard their kids?

Now, if you just don't want the headaches and potential disruptions I can understand that
 
koralis said:
Waiver of liability and make it clear it is their obligation to watch and safeguard their kids?

Now, if you just don't want the headaches and potential disruptions I can understand that
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It's hard to ask parents to sign that as they arrive with kids in tow for a wedding. It's a bit of a busy moment, and I think it would feel really awful to be confronted (however pleasantly) with a waiver of liability and told they need to watch their children.
 
greyghost said:
It's hard to ask parents to sign that as they arrive with kids in tow for a wedding. It's a bit of a busy moment, and I think it would feel really awful to be confronted (however pleasantly) with a waiver of liability and told they need to watch their children.
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it should be part of the booking process then.
 
Make it 21 and over and avoid the kids altogether. But to the point of this article I agree, if people aren't going to watch them then don't bring them. Don't make poor parenting someone else's problem.
 
Honestly...

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Silent-Runner said:
it should be part of the booking process then.
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That's what I was thinking. A link to a form to fill out if any guests are under the age of 18 in order to attend, etc.

Of course, that still leaves open the possibility of needing to ask guests to leave because their kids are being unruly despite being on notice of expectations, etc. (but you might have to do that with adult guests too :) Just not accepting kids is certainly easier, but may also be disappointing for some clients.
 
koralis said:
That's what I was thinking. A link to a form to fill out if any guests are under the age of 18 in order to attend, etc.

Of course, that still leaves open the possibility of needing to ask guests to leave because their kids are being unruly despite being on notice of expectations, etc. (but you might have to do that with adult guests too :) Just not accepting kids is certainly easier, but may also be disappointing for some clients.
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Most of our couples are glad we are the "bad guy" -- they wanted a child-free wedding to begin with. Easier on them and fine with us. I'd rather everyone had a good time and the kids were all safe with a sitter or grandparent.
 
This makes a lot of sense and will result in better weddings for all involved. Any parent that is actually good will have options for kids to be watched while they attend the ceremony. They will also get a much deserved break from the kids while attending the ceremony. The ones you are inconveniencing are the ones that selfishly dump their kids on any one but themselves. If they skip the wedding it will be good for everyone. They will also be the ones that complain the most. So you better be ready for a bunch of whiners attacking you on social media.
 
When we had little kids (our youngest is 6 now), they'd always make huge messes under the table at a restaurant. We always left extra generous tips, to try to make up for added trouble of cleaning up after us. Our kids were reasonably well behaved though... but nearly always spilled drinks, food, etc.
 
Never had an issue with kids messing up in restaurants. Must be a first world problem. :bleh:
 
I'm a teacher, I'm paid to deal with kids, unruly brats included. Restaurateurs are paid to give you a pleasant dining experience, not to deal with the aforementioned.
 
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