Backlash Against Child-Toting Bar Hoppers
As Brownstone Brooklyn becomes increasingly overrun by the stroller set, certain people have had enough, especially as the last sanctuary of grown-up decadence and childlessness has been invaded: In the arty, stroller-infested Brooklyn neighborhood [of Park Slope], the nearly 3-year-old smoking ban has had an additional effect beyond vexing nicotine addicts: It’s made bars more…
As Brownstone Brooklyn becomes increasingly overrun by the stroller set, certain people have had enough, especially as the last sanctuary of grown-up decadence and childlessness has been invaded:
In the arty, stroller-infested Brooklyn neighborhood [of Park Slope], the nearly 3-year-old smoking ban has had an additional effect beyond vexing nicotine addicts: It’s made bars more welcoming for young parents and their offspring. And while that may be a welcome development for thirsty moms and dads, it’s an affront to those, like Andy Heidel, who see bars as a last refuge from the kids who overrun local restaurants and cafes. “A bar is a place for adults,” Heidel, a 36-year-old writer, says flatly. “It’s not a playground for your child. What the hell are these people thinking?”
We’re guilty of bringing the young ‘uns along with us to an occasional early dinner out but can completely understand why there are those who would prefer to drink in peace.
Lowering the Bar [NY Post]
yeah, let’s hear the name of your establishments restaurant lady? Not enough balls to back up your comments? Sounds like you shouldn’t step near a service oriented business with that attitude.
And for all you out there who go to bars wishing there were no kids around…Why are you going out in park slope or in brooklyn for that matter. Oh, you moved here…well in case you didn’t notice the neighborhoods are mostly family oriented with kids so move somewhere else or go out somewhere else… like manhattan where there aren’t so many kids. You people sound ludricrous sometimes. It is NYC afterall where I think the kid/adult ratio is pretty low comparably to other places.
And for those of you who don’t think its ‘appropriate’ to have kids in a bar environment are the same people who raise kids to binge on it as teenagers. its a beverage…that’s it. Grow up.
As I said I bring my child to Bar/restaurants b/c they are noisy and I would say that waiter or waitress who serve us are generally VERY happy as their tip more than compensates for any extra effort my having a child causes – and I’d be suprised to hear that most parents didnt tip similarly.
I noticed Restaurant lady you make broad statements but are not willing to back it up with the names of your establishments.
No Anon at 5:11- this is mainly a non-issue that people love to make an issue on BB like this.
i’ve never seen kids at the bars i go to… (excluding maybe a sleeping baby, once). is this mainly a park slope issue??
Umm… Glad we moved on to ‘kids are like cats and dogs’ phase of the discussion.
IAC, noone is talking about a curfew on kids – but bars (whatever the definition) are where adults go to drink, and say a few choice words they normally wouldn’t say around children.
By the way, if another parent runs into me while talking on her cell phone and strolling her kid in a Hummer-sized Graco, I am going to kick her shin! Those things are fucking dangerous – and do not give the parent a greenlight to mame innocent bystanders on 7th ave.
The only one I have sympathy for is the restaurant owner and I agree the kids shouldn’t be running into the kitchen. But, if the kids are well behaved, I say they have the same right to be there as any other customer.
As for all the adults — there are many many more adults whose presence I would ban long before I ban the kids presence. The only reason I generally would not bring my own kids into the bar is that there are too many stupid Americans binge drinking there — I say those people need to be kicked out before the kids are.
Parents who bring their kids into bars are like dog owners that don’t use a leash. The whole world should be as cool as they are…
You know what I hate? Noisy kids on airplanes. They should set aside a pressurized nursery section somewhere, near where the dogs and cats are. then maybe I can catch a few zzzzz’s during a flight.
Actually, I really think this is the problem, no matter where you bring your kids:
“incompetent indulgent self-centered parents”
Kids are what they are – however, having waitressed for years and seeing all manners of behavior among children and adults, it was always the PARENTS that failed to control their kids behavior. People don’t seem to understand what’s proper anymore. My parents used to take my sister and I to nice (and less fancy) retaurants all the time – because we were well aware of the consequences of misbehaving in a restaurant. And yes, sometimes that meant my parents took us straight home and didn’t get to eat their dinner, but that’s what happens when you are training kids to have manners. People have lost a sense of propriety.
Which restaurants?
I know a number of top restauranteurs and they are very pro-well-behaved children in their establishments. No one should let their children run wild, I quite agree, but if you are in a family neighborhood and you don’t want children there, you’re in the wrong line of work or the wrong location.