# Places kids don't belong? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [May 22, 2011, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820 "2011-05-22T21:47:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![G-SE](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f0a364/32.png) [@G-SE](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/G-SE)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/81 "2011-05-23T20:05:40Z")
Michael Jackson’s bed. ---
**Author:** ![Lorski](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Lorski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lorski)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/82 "2011-05-23T20:11:08Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Maybe so, but that doesn’t make it “fine dining.” Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s, etc. type restaurants around here are usually around $20-30 for an entree. **Thinking you wouldn’t see kids at a place like that is absurd**. True. But those are more family-oriented type places. Of course children are going to be there. Being childless myself, I tend to blame the parents more when the kids are running wild. My mom would have smacked me a good one (or two) if I acted up in a public place. I knew to sit still and mind my manners. ---
**Author:** ![longPath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@longPath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/longPath)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/83 "2011-05-23T20:11:51Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > The lunar surface. this is the best place for some people’s children. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/84 "2011-05-23T20:13:14Z")
> [@Procrustus](#): > > Court. > > Judge’s don’t like it, even if they’re well behaved. Yeah, and the badly behaved judges really have it in for the kids! ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/85 "2011-05-23T21:18:56Z")
> [@Mr.Krebbs](#): > > 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. +1. I don’t mind very well behaved middle schoolers but anyone who can’t sit still and carry on polite conversation for 90 minutes shouldn’t be brought. I see them a lot more often because people want to cut back in the recession - so they don’t get a sitter :smack:. There is an arcade that allows BYOB unlimited alcohol (not just beer/wine, but liquor too). Most patrons throughout enjoy this perk as well. Although the games are fun for kids - though older videogames that the 21-35 y.o set grew up playing. The place clearly is meant for those 21 and above. And yet, the establishment let kids in last week. And a baby. Who got hit with a ping pong ball. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/86 "2011-05-23T21:38:07Z")
> [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](#): > > Maybe so, but that doesn’t make it “fine dining.” Applebee’s, TGI Friday’s, etc. type restaurants around here are usually around $20-30 for an entree. Thinking you wouldn’t see kids at a place like that is absurd. $25/plate in Pittsburgh will get you a locally raised lamb shoulder with certified naturally grown vegetables. The most expensive cocktail (pre-prohibition style ones with fresh ingredients) will run you $10. The most expensive entrees - filets - top out at $35. ---
**Author:** ![Laggard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/9de053/32.png) [@Laggard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laggard)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/87 "2011-05-23T23:25:06Z")
Movie Theaters Bars Art Museums Art openings I wish more places would have no children days. I like to visit the science museum here but can’t stand the sheer number of kids running around and running into us. And I wish the state fair would have a no stroller or wagon day. ---
**Author:** ![YaraMateo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/58f4c7/32.png) [@YaraMateo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaraMateo)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/88 "2011-05-23T23:34:06Z")
> [@Kolga](#): > > Because they don’t like sitting still and quiet for a couple of hours straight, and start to get antsy and wiggly, and talk in normal voices. > > I recently attended three different recitals of various community groups, one of which I performed in as well, and all three of them were negatively affected by children who were not able to sit still for the entire performance and started to ask questions of their parents in normal tones of voice. Which the parents responded to, in normal tones of voice. > > Now, we can have a conversation about whether or not those constituted “well-behaved children” and appropriately-intervening parents. However, I attend a LOT of recitals and performances in the classical music and opera genres, and I cannot remember the last time I was able to enjoy an entire performance without at least one ill-timed, ill-behaved, and ill-intervened outburst by a child who had been kept their past their endurance. > \*\* > Why is it not okay for there to be SOME adult-only spaces in society (other than, you know, adult-themed joints like titty bars\*\*)? This. I think some people forget being a parent is a choice. Even if your child is unplanned. You choose to not abort them/not give them up for adoption. I have no children by choice. I shouldn’t be subjected to your children if I don’t want to be. Years ago, when I was a child, there were certain places you didn’t bring kids. If kids were somewhere they belonged, say a grocery store, and acted like they had rababies various people had no problem telling the parents so. Now a days, you can’t even tell someone to get a grip on their kids. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/89 "2011-05-23T23:40:14Z")
> [@YaraMateo](#): > > I shouldn’t be subjected to your children if I don’t want to be. It depends what you mean by “subjected.” If you mean that you shouldn’t be disturbed by them while you’re eating dinner or watching a show, then of course. You shouldn’t be disturbed by _anybody_ during dinner or a show. Adults have been known to violate this precept too. If you mean that you shouldn’t have to see or hear them _at all_, then forget it. They’re as much a part of society as you are. Indeed, more, if you object to certain classes of people _being_ in public places. > [@YaraMateo](#): > > Now a days, you can’t even tell someone to get a grip on their kids. I tell people this, one way or another, fairly frequently. Not constantly, because I don’t have problems with children that often, but I don’t hesitate too much. I give people a generous chance to take care of it themselves first, of course, and I’m polite about it when the time comes, but I treat it as a civic responsibility almost as much as monitoring my own kids. ---
**Author:** ![gurujulp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ba9def/32.png) [@gurujulp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gurujulp)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/90 "2011-05-23T23:48:36Z")
> [@Mr.Krebbs](#): > > 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. If I am paying $25-$50 for my child’s meal, I don’t particularly care what you do or don’t want to listen to- I care that they get to eat the meal and enjoy it! I don’t bring kids to expensive restaurants unless I know they will eat there, however. Your point is valid if the child is only heard, and not fed… ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2011, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/91 "2011-05-23T23:54:29Z")
> [@Laggard](#): > > Movie Theaters Do you seriously think children should never be allowed in movie theaters? What about for, like, Disney-Pixar movies and such? 😕 Our local movie theater has a rule of “No Children Under 16 in R-rated Movies After 6PM”, and I thoroughly approve of this rule. I don’t think young children need to be in R-rated movies at all, but it’s nice they have rules so we can predict when there won’t be any kids there! ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/92 "2011-05-24T01:22:31Z")
Porn theaters ---
**Author:** ![Otara](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a88e4f/32.png) [@Otara](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Otara)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/93 "2011-05-24T02:09:10Z")
“I think some people forget being a parent is a choice.” But being a child isnt. We all have to go through it, and they are an inescapable part of any society intending to last more than a single generation. So you are going to be ‘subjected’ to them, like it or not. Otara ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/94 "2011-05-24T03:56:11Z")
> [@Otara](#): > > “I think some people forget being a parent is a choice.” > > But being a child isnt. We all have to go through it, and they are an inescapable part of any society intending to last more than a single generation. > > So you are going to be ‘subjected’ to them, like it or not. > > Otara But what some of us are saying is that it is reasonable in our society to have the expectation that a _few_ places will not have children in them for various good reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Gilles\_de\_Rais](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@Gilles\_de\_Rais](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gilles_de_Rais)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/95 "2011-05-24T04:09:58Z")
I live in the Napa valley and there is nothing more sad than parents who drag their kids from winery to winery… The kids get bored and unruly and the parents get more drunk and apathetic at how atrocious their spawn are behaving. Seriously - this place is Adult Disneyland and there are only two or three wineries at best that can accommodate kids (Coppola, for example, gives out miniature sailboats for the kidlets to play in the fountain). But that’s about it. ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/96 "2011-05-24T06:13:47Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > But what some of us are saying is that it is reasonable in our society to have the expectation that a _few_ places will not have children in them for various good reasons. Except that this thread lists a lot more than a _few_ – even ignoring the joke posts. Some go so far as to suggest that a baby in a stroller can’t go to any place that has narrow aisles. This is absurd. It’s annoying to work hard to raise well-behaved kids only to read a list of stuff they shouldn’t be allowed to do. ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/97 "2011-05-24T06:47:30Z")
> [@Lorski](#): > > It is to me. Sorry, not everyone is rich and snobby. In fact, there is no way in hell I would spend $25 dollars on a plate of food. That’s just ridiculous. Well I very regularly spend $25 on a meal for my six year old, let alone for myself. I enjoy food. And “rich and snobby” is the furtherest thing from what I am. to even hear it is actively offensive. Just because you are happy eating cheap and processed carboard for nutrients, don’t label the rest of us. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/98 "2011-05-24T06:48:04Z")
> [@CaveMike](#): > > Except that this thread lists a lot more than a _few_ – even ignoring the joke posts. Some go so far as to suggest that a baby in a stroller can’t go to any place that has narrow aisles. … Actually, I don’t care whether a baby is in the stroller or not. I don’t like it when strollers obstruct the aisles. ---
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/99 "2011-05-24T10:44:35Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > Porn theaters That would be Thompson, Manitoba, in the late 1970s (a northern mining town), where aboriginal children would hang out at the late-night showings of films such as Emmanuel. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [May 24, 2011, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820/100 "2011-05-24T12:21:57Z")
> [@Otara](#): > > “I think some people forget being a parent is a choice.” > > But being a child isnt. We all have to go through it, and they are an inescapable part of any society intending to last more than a single generation. > > So you are going to be ‘subjected’ to them, like it or not. > > Otara No, but there are tons of child friendly and family friendly venues out there. There are plenty of restaurants with kids menus and crayons, plenty of concerts targeted to kids, theatre companies that do kids plays, G and PG movies. The only reason to take your kids to a $100 a plate price fixe menu restaurant, or an adult concert, or an R rated movie (and I’m talking younger kids - a 17 year old in any of these places is fine - if they are well behaved - and I expect well behaved adults as well) is because YOU want to go to these places, because YOU have to be at these places, or the occasional clueless grandparent who decides that their birthday should be held in a fancy restaurant and wants you to bring your five year old - or some other ‘bringing my kid is the lesser evil’ scenario. And you don’t want to, or can’t, find someone to watch your kids. If the Minnesota Orchestra is doing Peter And the Wolf in an afternoon performance, I completely expect that the majority of the audience will have kids in tow. An 8pm performance of Stravinsky and Holst, I’m not expecting kids at. When the Children’s Theatre does Pippi Longstocking, the theatre should be crowded with kids. When the Guthrie does A Doll’s House, there should be a few middle schoolers and high schoolers around with an interest in “Theatre” - and no one under the age of ten. I’m a parent. I’m a school volunteer. I teach Sunday School. I lead Girl Scouts. I have the house in the neighborhood that usually has a few extra kids in it. I don’t expect not to be “subjected” to kids. Perhaps that is the reason that when I go out for an adult evening (and by adult, I don’t mean porn and booze) I don’t expect that the seat behind me will be continually kicked by a small child. Or when I’m making adult conversation at a grown up party, I don’t expect I’ll be editing myself for “little ears” because ONE couple didn’t bother to find a sitter for their kid. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/places-kids-dont-belong/582820.md?page=6)