Are kids ever welcome in pubs? I say yes.
Although according to THIS article, “pubs are supposed to be places for adults to unwind away from the hassles of work and family life.” Ooops. I must have missed that memo.
Firstly, I want to say that I actually loved the writing and the style of this article about kids in pubs. It was brilliantly written and hooked me from beginning to end. But to the author, Sarah: respectfully, you are wrong. Wrongity wrong wrong.
Pubs aren’t the domain of any one generation or of any one genre. I think it’s more about timing and even more so, responsibility. On the flipside, I also believe there is a place that people without children should be able to go and have a beer and not have to deal with a child having a full apocalyptic meltdown because he was short-changed a chicken nugget.
Hear me out.
I get it. I do. There are “kid friendly” restaurants or parks or friend’s houses we can go. But what happens when we just don’t want to? Why should we have to? Isn’t our money just as good as yours? And isn’t our intention just as pure? To eat good food and drink reasonably priced beers and have a few laughs? Is it so bad that we have some tiny humans with us?
And look, I am often on both sides of the beer garden. I work in an office and therefore, have Friday afternoon drinks with my workmates. I work in a wanky trendy part of Melbourne that sees an eclectic mix of Friday funsters at any one of the establishments we choose to attend.
I mean, there’s a DJ in the corner FFS, when did THIS happen to pubs in Australia? I digress. I am with you here, writer Sarah. Friday arvo work drinks are no place for a child. It is a shambles by 10pm. And definitely not a place for children.
I am also a parent of three children, aged from 7 – 14. We spend MANY a Sunday at a pub. In fact, since moving to Melbourne, we’ve made it quite a tradition to attend a different pub in Melbourne, following a recommended path.