Image from www.sxc.hu
Jon Ronson, one of my favourite journalists, wrote a short piece for the Guardian Word of Mouth Blog recently about his young son being turned away from a half-empty restaurant that had a No Children policy. The piece is ranty in a kind of tongue-in-cheek way, and it caused the most almighty scrap in the comments section. It’s well worth a look to see the heights of self-righteous vitriol that some commenters reach, both from the pro-child and anti-child positions.
I’m a parent, as it happens, and I don’t like the idea of children being banned from public places during the day time. There is no rule, written or unwritten, that people are entitled to a child-free life in public places: children are people too, albeit smaller and stickier.
However, I do also believe in the social contract and that parents have a responsibility: if their children are noisy or acting up in a restaurant, they absolutely should take them outside until they calm down. And if the child refuses to calm down, the parents should move on: no-one should have to listen to toddlers hollering while they’re trying to enjoy a meal.
This isn’t something I see too often, in my experience, kids are usually ok in restaurants. As one of the Guardian commenters says, I’ve had way more meals ruined by adults (of the loud, obnoxious or rude variety) than by kids. And how are children ever supposed to get socialised and learn how to behave in public if they’re only ever brought to bunfights in McDonalds?
What do you think? Is it ok for restaurants to have a no-children policy? How do you find the behaviour of Irish children in restaurants?
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