I was talking to a friend who goes to the salon regular. She told me nothing bothers her more than kids being there.
My question to you is are there certain places kids don’t belong. Or can you bring your kid where ever you want?
Yes, definitely. I think the best metric is: if there’s nothing for the kid to do there, he probably shouldn’t be there. That’s what leaves kids free to behave badly, because they are bored. It is unfortunate that there aren’t adequate daycare programs for everyone’s kids. However, if the salon gives haircuts to kids, then the kid can come and get a haircut.
I love kids, but there are plenty of places where they don’t belong and/or aren’t allowed. There’s also a big difference between a child running around unsupervised and one sitting quietly and coloring or reading.
They gym. I got to Bally’s and it has a very active, Taekwondo class. This is great as it give the kids something to do, but the parents abuse it so much. The first class doesn’t start till 4pm and by 2pm the parents are already dropping the kids off. They tell them to wait. Of course the kids are bored and they’re racing around playing on the machines, with the weights.
The lunar surface.
I can think of many places I have seen children and wondered why the parents would bring them. My hubby and I sat 3 rows in front of a couple with a three yr old in a late showing R rated movie. Even if the kid was unaware of the violence and adult language, (which he was not, evidenced by the panicked wailing during several particulary scary scenes) the volume of the soundtrack alone would be damaging to the kid’s ears.
Most of the time, its not so much the child, but rather the parent’s behavior. So many times its the kids, acting like kids, but the parents don’t bother to intervene when necessary and teach appropriate behavior required in certain environments.
I can begrudgingly give the parents of young children a pass at the Olive Garden or whatever, but I don’t think children under twelve belong in any fine dining establishments. If I’m paying $25-30 for a plate, I don’t want to listen to your kids while I eat it.
Disneyland.
I think this depends entirely on the behavior of the children. If the child is mature enough to be quiet, polite to the servers, order off the regular menu with her parents, and sit through a long meal then she’s old enough to go to a fancy restaurant. Parents just need to be more responsible about deciding whether their children’s behavior is mature.
I remember my parents emphasizing when I was younger that it was a huge privilege to get to go out and sit at the grown-ups’ table with my parents, and that I’d only get to go if I had shown especially good behavior in the past few days, and was willing to wear nice clothes and try new food. (Not trying to hold up my parents as paragons of perfect parenting but I think they were right on this one. Kids should understand that it isn’t the age that makes the difference, it’s the behavior - and a rude, nasty 16 year old at a fancy restaurant is just as bad as a whiny 6 year old.)
I think it would depend on the kid. I Knew several who behave far better in such places than many adults. Although I know how you feel, as a parent, when I get a chance to go out and be a grown up, I don’t want somebody elses kid disrupting it.
Auctions
Restaurants where there is no kids’ menu or high chairs.
Bars and pubs (I wish this were a no-brainer, but licensed places here allow kids unless there are VLTs in them. People bring their children to our local pub way too often.)
Movies that aren’t rated for them.
Spas.
My house. 
I agree with you, Electric Warrior. I just see way too many misbehaved young kids out and about. I’ll also grant that a rude teenager can be way worse than an obnoxious 6 year old.
Honestly, kids on planes are the worst (but I don’t see any getting around that conundrum).
I’m a mobile kid-free zone.
I don’t know about that – seems like auctions are pretty good ways of selling off unruly kids.
Trade shows.
We go to food shows from time to time. It’s difficult when we’re talking with a vendor/manufacturer/sales rep trying to make a deal or discuss whether we’re going to bring a new product into the store and we have kids pushing their way through the crowd trying to grab samples of crackers or potato chips. Additionally, these places are usually really crowded, your 1 year old in a stroller doesn’t need to be there (neither does your 95 year old grandmother in a wheelchair). These shows typically run 2 to 3 days for 4 or 5 hours a day. I’d be surprised if you really couldn’t find someone to watch the kid for a few hours at some point. If you can’t, just don’t go. It’s really not that big of deal. You’re sales rep will be happy to bring you samples and more often then not, they’ll extend the show specials to you even if you weren’t there.
Depends on the age of the kid - AND their behavior. The following is for well behaved kids. Adults who behave like untrained monkeys in public don’t belong in these places either.
I don’t think kids under six belong in fine dining establishments (but I wouldn’t consider $25 a plate “fine dining” - double that. At $100 a plate, kids under 12 don’t belong).
Kids under 12 or so don’t belong at MOST rated R movies (but mine saw The King’s Speech.)
Kids under 18 do not belong in bars - and bars that are nominally restaurants aren’t much better. (Though here untrained monkeys of legal age DO belong).
Parties unless the invitation specifically includes them.
Live performances over their heads. i.e. taking a kid to see The Lion King at the theatre is one thing, or a performance of The Wiggles - taking them to Hamlet or the Chamber Orchestra is quite another.
The Swingers’ Club down on Broadway.
I’ll jump in on the non-kid-friendly movies. When my husband and I went to see Saving Private Ryan, there was a couple behind us with a kid who couldn’t have been more than 5! And there were scenes in that movie I could barely watch!
Also, a tangential rant inspired by yesterday’s dinner experience: a kid doesn’t belong anywhere in public after he’s bored, it’s serving no purpose to be there, and he’s just disturbing other people. I took my two kids (ages 20 and 11) to a Garfield’s for dinner; any of you unfamiliar with Garfield’s, I’d put it on par with a Ruby Tuesday or Applebee’s. They do have a kids menu, high chairs, etc. BUT at the table next to ours, was a woman who was maybe 30 or so, with a boy who couldn’t have been more than about 5. They had finished their meals. But Garfield’s is replete with big-screen TVs in the corners, and the mother was ostensibly wrapped up in watching some sporting event or the other. While her son said (approximately five million times) “Missed me, missed me, now you gotta kiss me!” Then threw himself on the floor under the table. Then laid flat down on the bench of his booth, bellowing “Now you can’t seeeeeeee meeeeeee!”, lather, rinse, repeat. There were mild recriminations from the mom “Now, settle down; we’re going to go soon”, etc.
I don’t blame the child for his behavior. A 5YO who is obviously a high-energy kid to start with simply does not possess the patience to sit in a restaurant for more than a half-hour or so, and they stayed for a good half-hour after we arrived, and they were already finished eating. My guess is that poor kid must have been stuck, bored, in that booth, for at least two hours.
Note to parents: if your kid is acting up, melting down, etc. and you don’t have a pressing need to be where you are, take them away!!
Having flown with kids, I can tell you that being a parent on a plane with a kid is no picnic either.
Once when my son was about 9 months old, I flew with him and his 3 yr old sister to visit family. Before the trip, his pediatrican gave me a perscription for Tylenol with codeine, since air pressure changes with or without an ear infection can cause discomfort. The codeine part was for my sanity. We boarded the plane and took our seats. A man, with a wife and teenage son, in the row in front of us turned, glared at me, told his wife, loudly, that he wasn’t going to spend the next 3 hours next to a crying baby (my son, by the way, was passed out from the codeine at that moment). He made a big fuss demanding different seats on the other end of the plane, and moving his embarrased wife, son, and carryons to their new location. Moments before the door was closed, another mother with an infant boarded the plane and took the only available seat left; you guessed it, right next to Mr. Disgruntled.
My kid slept the whole flight. Her kid cried the whole time. 