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I have a gripe about family rooms in pubs. I was due to meet my friends for lunch as one of them was celebrating their birthday. I had my thirteen-year-old As pergers boy with me and to be honest, I am very disappointed by the way the bar staff treated us.
I was told that I had to leave because of my child
The barmaid at the pub told me that I had to sit in the family room with him to eat my meal, which was fine and I was quite happy to do this. I then went to get my friend and I a drink to celebrate her birthday and was told that I had to leave because I had finished my meal. She said that I couldn't have a drink because my son was with me and it was due to the licensing laws. We had to leave, even though he was not having a drink or eating; it made no difference that he was just sat quietly next to me playing a gameboy.
Not only that, when I went back to tell my friends and politely take my leave, she came up to me again and insisted that I leave the bar. It felt as though I was being thrown out just because I dared to have a child with me! I don't know if this kind of thing is quite common or not, but I couldn't see the problem as I was the parent and he wasn't even having a drink let alone alcohol. Why was he not allowed to just sit by me? If he'd been a toddler, would we have been treated in the same manner?
Also, it was extremely embarrassing to be told to leave the way that I was. Needless to say neither I, nor my friends will ever visit that pub again and I would like to know exactly what the licensing law does say about this matter.
For example, in a restaurant you wouldn't expect to be kicked out as soon as you had eaten would you? In some pub chains such as Brewers Fayre, you can have a meal and a drink with family and not be immediately evicted as soon as you'd finished. I thought that this was the whole idea of family rooms?
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there was a time when the pub was one place a single bloke or couple could go without children there.
Some pubs have a no children after 6.30pm rule so that they leave at a reasonable time.
I'd be there for a boogie anyway!
Pubs where I live as a rule have a "no under 21s" policy that is entirely due to irresponsible parents bringing their badly behaved brats into the pub. The very people who whine and cry about the policy are the people who forced it to be implemented.
When I go to a pub, I'm not going to censor myself just cuz there are snotty nosed brats there. They shouldn't be there cuz the pub is for adults. I don't go to the adventure playground and sink a bottle of vodka while loudly discussing my s*x life; therefore, parents should keep kids out of the pub til they're old enough to be there. If you want to have a drink, either pay for a sitter and go out or stay home with a bottle of wine. Not hard.
Niceguy