# An infant walks into a bar... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 4, 2011, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109 "2011-02-04T02:54:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 11:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/41 "2011-02-05T11:05:29Z")
That joke totally didn’t have a punchline. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/42 "2011-02-05T11:42:40Z")
Getting rid of these goddamn smoking bans would fix this in an instant. I went to the bar to _drink poison_; I’m not above breathing some too. Really though I’m a big fan of letting the owners decide the house rules. If they want no smoking and kid-friendly: great. It’s their business. If they want yards of beer and a blue haze: great. We would quickly figure out which bars we’d frequent and when. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/43 "2011-02-05T18:40:29Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > My dad always tells me stories about how when he was a kid, his grandfather would take him and my aunts to the local pub – my great-grandfather would have a beer and a shot, and he’d buy pop and pretzels for the kids. Imagine doing that nowadays! I played a mean game of bar shuffleboard when I was in elementary school. ---
**Author:** ![picunurse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/7bcc69/32.png) [@picunurse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/picunurse)\ **Post date:** [February 5, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/44 "2011-02-05T20:27:54Z")
> [@corkboard](#): > > If you wife was 9 months pregnant, she’d be allowed in. Post-delivery, the kid is banned. Stupid. > > We brought my kids to bars (like 4-5 years old) and we’d eat pub food for dinner, but they just couldn’t sit _at_ the bar. No biggie. The baby in-utero doesn’t cry, poop and throw up. Leave the baby at home. I don’t drink, but hubby and I eat in the bar because too many people think their little one is sooo cute eveyone would want to see, hear and smell it.. The bar doesn’t allow children. ---
**Author:** ![MeanOldLady](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meanoldlady/32/10737_2.png) [@MeanOldLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MeanOldLady)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2011, 4:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/45 "2011-02-06T16:41:57Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > And sure, I can see (now) that it’s possible some of the adults might not enjoy a baby being around, but it was clearly the technicality of being “under 21” that the bouncer was enforcing, not some aspect of the other patrons’ fun. I’m almost certain that is not the case. How many times have you, in your personal experiences when having numerous reasons for making a decision, cited the one that is easiest to prove and hardest to argue with? He cited the 21+ thing because technically that is the rule, but also, I’m sure in part, because it was easier to say that than “Everyone is gonna be pissed if you bring your crying, shit-factory into the bar.” > [@Anaamika](#): > > So there is no place that can be kid-free? Not even a bar? I mean, I don’t ask that kids be removed from all public spheres as a specific person will no doubt accuse me of wanting, but I do value the few kid-free places we have. Yes, girl, preach. > [@aruvqan](#): > > ooo I love Fly Me To The Moon … it is oddly enough about the only thing by Sinatra I actually like him singing [I for some unknown reason that I do not like Sinatra 😕] Buy _Sinatra and Basie at The Sands_, and let’s revisit this discussion then. > [@BigT](#): > > Because obviously what you think is appropriate and what other people think is appropriate is different. If you don’t want somebody to do something, is the smart thing to do to just hope they get it, and then get all confrontational when they don’t, or to tell them ahead of time so they know not to bother coming in? > > It’s just common sense. Sir, what percentage of bars have you been to that advertise their 21+ policy? About 10? Because that would be my experience. I thought it was common sense to assume that kids aren’t allowed in bars, but apparently your mileage varies. Regarding Bar Mitzvahs - So? A lot of venues offer private parties, but that doesn’t mean you should assume a bar/club would allow 13 year olds ordinarily during regular hours because there was no written indication of their policy regarding children. ---
**Author:** ![Double\_Foolscap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85e7bf/32.png) [@Double\_Foolscap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Double_Foolscap)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2011, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/46 "2011-02-07T12:13:13Z")
> [@Anaamika](#): > > So there is no place that can be kid-free? Not even a bar? I mean, I don’t ask that kids be removed from all public spheres as a specific person will no doubt accuse me of wanting, but I do value the few kid-free places we have. Related story: the pub across the road from work is a kids-free place (remember this is the UK, where kids are allowed in pubs that serve food, although obviously not in the bar). We go there whenever there’s a cause for celebration, as their lunch menu is pretty good. The last time we went out our Marketing Manager was planning to bring her six month old kid. I assumed that we would go to the pub about five minutes away, with comparable food and a more lax policy on children. For some reason, my coworker (not the Marketing Manager) planned to phone up our regular place to ask them to relax the rules for us, just this one time, they know us, etc. I managed to make the case that we shouldn’t ask, as they have the restriction for a reason and it would put them in a very uncomfortable position if we asked - either they’re forced to say no to regulars, or force to explain to their customers why there’s a kid in the pub despite the sign on the door. Obviously, the OP wasn’t to know in this instance, so it’s not exactly the same situation, but I was floored by the balls of my coworker. It’s not like we had nowhere else to go, and I don’t think I’ve been a patron of any company where I’ve felt comfortable asking for them to bend the rules, despite how much of a special precious snowflake I am. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [February 10, 2011, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109/47 "2011-02-10T20:30:47Z")
It was a popular watering hole for the under-two set. Outside the entrance, any night of the week, there were always at least a dozen strollers, prams, and kiddie cars angle parked on the sidewalk, impeding traffic and causing other problems for the townsfolk, who generally crossed the street to avoid it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/an-infant-walks-into-a-bar/570109.md?page=2)