# Would you go (restaurant) if it was child-free? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 25, 2010, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392 "2010-01-25T18:30:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2010, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/81 "2010-01-27T22:02:58Z")
I think the real problem is children getting caught in the tuna nets in the first place. ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Credible](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a8b319/32.png) [@Justin\_Credible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Credible)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/82 "2010-01-28T00:04:51Z")
> [@bup](#): > > I think the real problem is children getting caught in the tuna nets in the first place. Ha! ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/83 "2010-01-28T02:12:01Z")
I’ve been going to bars for 30 years specifically to avoid the joys of parenthood. If I’m paying for food I don’t want to be disturbed. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/84 "2010-01-28T02:15:10Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > Not because it’s not horribly obnoxious, but does it really happen _that often_ to people that you consider it a likely chance every time you go out to eat? Yes. ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/85 "2010-01-28T04:58:47Z")
> [@Eonwe](#): > > This seems to be the topic du jour around here, and I just don’t see the outrage. > > Not because it’s not horribly obnoxious, but does it really happen _that often_ to people that you consider it a likely chance every time you go out to eat? > > Maybe I just don’t go to the “right” places, or maybe things are different in different regions, but I can’t think of the last time I was out to eat and had my experience interrupted by screaming children. And I tend to go out to varied and numerous low/mid-scale eateries. > > So, my answer to the OP is, “Yes, but only because I don’t see that changing my dining experience one jot.” Yes, I have come to expect that our dinner will be repeatedly interrupted by a yelling, screaming, very loud or otherwise intrusive kid. To be fair, adults do it at times too. When it doesn’t happen, we’re pleasantly surprised and usually comment that things were quiet. My SO and I have said numerous times that if we can afford to open a restaurant that we would have an age policy, though we were talking about drawing the line at 12. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/86 "2010-01-28T05:26:46Z")
As a parent of my own kids, long past That Age, I could tell when it was Someone Else’s Kid, even 20-some years ago. And as a parent, the crying of Someone Else’s Kid doesn’t even register. Many of those who object should simply reproduce. 😃 Unless the Little Bastard is literally screaming in your ear and causing permanent hearing loss (speak into my left ear\*), but the distance between tables should attenuate it enough. - - The audio systems I design include enough leeway that an owner sitting in the Sweet Spot can easily adjust it to accommodate any hearing loss his kids’ nanny, who isn’t sitting there, has experienced by his kids. My own system is much more sensitive and I need to not move my head even 1/4 inch when I have it “centered.” ETA: I’d prefer you pretended it was because I’m an audiophile, but I’m really just that deaf, though it helps when I can dismiss a megabux audio system on the basis of my infirmity, which I share with many of my customers. ---
**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:** [January 28, 2010, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/87 "2010-01-28T05:45:52Z")
I think a child under 18 with a muzzle would be ok. But I voted yes because there are not enough muzzles to go around. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [January 28, 2010, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392/88 "2010-01-28T05:52:19Z")
Maybe Alberta is a little unusual in that it actually has places where minors (those under 18) are not allowed at any time. Mostly, such places are bar/restaurants with Video Lottery terminals, but having come here from a jurisdiction without VLTs and where children seem to be allowed everywhere, it’s a nice change. If I go to a family restaurant such as Denny’s, Boston Pizza, or Applebee’s, I know what I’m getting into and fully expect children to be present. But if I choose not to spend my dining experience with children, I can head off to, for example, my local sports bar (and its typical sports bar grub), where kids are not allowed. We’re totally smoke-free, BTW, so the reasoning for not allowing children goes beyond exposing them to smoke. IME, those children whose parents take them to higher-end places, such as Ruth’s Chris or Hy’s, or even the Keg, are well-behaved. I’ve certainly seen children in such places, but never been bothered by them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-restaurant-if-it-was-child-free/526392.md?page=4)