i have experienced children in restaurants and pubs that seem to just run around shouting and generally annoying everyone and the parents are just ignoring the children's bad behavior. this could be down to a couple of reasons i think, firstly, bad parenting and secondly a lack of facilities for these children to play. lets face it how long do we expect very young children to just sit in their chairs for and not want to get up and explore. so therefore should restaurants and bars allow children on the promises if there is no play areas or facilities and i do agree that their should be signs up to indicate if the establishment is child friendly or not.

Just like the 'Children's Menu' seems to be a peculiarly British concept so is the idea that pubs and bars etc need to have a play area for young children because otherwise they will get bored and run riot. I've never been into a bar or cafe in either Spain or Cuba with such a thing yet there are often families there with very well behaved children who are included rather than shunted off to play on their own away from the adults. Families in both countries go out as families, with even quite young children, and not just during the day but of an evening too. The evening promenade is a family thing and not just for adults or the teenagers flirting away with each other.

SM

SMa wrote:

Just like the 'Children's Menu' seems to be a peculiarly British concept so is the idea that pubs and bars etc need to have a play area for young children because otherwise they will get bored and run riot. I've never been into a bar or cafe in either Spain or Cuba with such a thing yet there are often families there with very well behaved children who are included rather than shunted off to play on their own away from the adults. Families in both countries go out as families, with even quite young children, and not just during the day but of an evening too. The evening promenade is a family thing and not just for adults or the teenagers flirting away with each other.

SM

Whats wrong with areas for children to play in at pubs or restaurants? Obviously children born in the UK are particularly vulnerable to rioting in restaurants and bars, unlike Cuban and Spanish children who you have ever encountered in a restaurant being well behaved and included ?.

Whats wrong with areas for children to play in at pubs or restaurants?

I was simply making the point that other countries that seem to be regarded as more child/family friendly don't seem to feel the need for them and yet don't have the same problems of children running wild.

But as you seem to be suggesting that you are want to wave me goodbye from this discussion I'll bow out now and leave you to it.

SM

SMa wrote:

Whats wrong with areas for children to play in at pubs or restaurants?

I was simply making the point that other countries that seem to be regarded as more child/family friendly don't seem to feel the need for them and yet don't have the same problems of children running wild.

But as you seem to be suggesting that you are want to wave me goodbye from this discussion I'll bow out now and leave you to it.

SM

I’m not suggesting you leave the conversation for one second.

Hmmm
Play nicely children (pun intended) Mod is watching

Graham

SMa wrote:

But as you seem to be suggesting that you are want to wave me goodbye from this discussion I'll bow out now and leave you to it.

SM

I saw Michael's wave as an indication of keeping the conversation friendly tbh.

Glynis HT Admin wrote:

SMa wrote:

But as you seem to be suggesting that you are want to wave me goodbye from this discussion I'll bow out now and leave you to it.

SM

I saw Michael's wave as an indication of keeping the conversation friendly tbh.

Just a bit of lively banter lol, no harm done.

As some one who lives abroad let me say it's not just British children who are bad mannered in restaurants. A recent visit to a local Greek restaurant was completely ruined by children using the area between tables as a playground. We expected to see plates of food going flying when the children almost collided with waiters trying to do their jobs. A couple of the children came up to our table when they heard us speaking English and insisted on chatting to us, one child even insisted on sitting at one of the empty chairs at our table.
The children were from a Greek and German background.

I'm not really sure I understand the concept of a 'Children's Menu' is it a completely separate menu just with childrens meals listed or a part of the normal menu with the heading Childrens Meals ( or often Meals for a Smaller Appetite) . We do have this on many German menus where the usual fish fingers and somewhat smaller versions of the standard meals will be listed.

Usually Judith it's smaller portions of the things they think children like to eat, fish fingers, burgers, beans etc.

Thanks Glynis

I've found that UK children are not so well behaved in bars and restaurants because mostly they don't know how to behave when they are there - because it's not always the "done thing" to include them sitting with adults at the table on a regular basis.

Having travelled for many years previously and lived abroad for this last 10 years we see children treated quite differently. Our first encounter was New Years Day 2005 (our first New Year in Cyprus) when we were invited to dinner by our landlord next door.

There were about 25 people all told including teenagers and younger kids. We were all seated together at numerous tables in a long line and the kids got to pick their food first, then whilst the adults were still eating the kids/teenagers toddled off to the piano where they gave renditions of singing to and playing both classical and modern pop songs.

Children are taken out with their parents regularly and pretty much get used to the routine of what happens around the dinner table and take their cue from their parents. In UK, it seems to still be a bit of a novelty and they just don't know how to behave.

All a kids menu does is encourage the parents to take them into the bar/restaurant - it doesn't necessarily mean they have any facilities for kids.

There's a place we pass regularly on the way to the beach at the weekend and on Sunday, it's packed to the hilt with not a place to be had on the car park at lunchtime. They've spent a fortune on building a huge extension at the back where families can go and with the front part mainly used by adults only. The back opens out onto a big playground so the kids that have the energy can go and play outside and away from the tables.

If the kids want to run riot in UK, there's always Macdonalds! They all have their own play area..... now, would that be the reason why I mostly do takeaway when I fancy a Maccy D?

If I had a choice, I wouldn't go to a child friendly restaurant..... like Corinne, I chose not to have any kids too. My husband has a son who was only very young when we got together but he was never allowed to go charging about the place when we went out. He was taught to sit with us at the table until we had all finished eating. It's never done him any harm and he never did kids menus either...

I found it completely different in Mallorca last week it was the British and German kids who were sitting at table with their parents and the Spanish kids were running riot round the tables being loud and generally getting on everyone's nerves apart from their parents and the staff. Who both seemed either oblivious to their behaviour, or were deliberately cocking a deaf un, so they could continue their adults conversations without bothering to keep them in check

This was ages between 3 & 10 in the Square in the Old Town of Pollenca. The Square seemed to be used as some sort of unofficial playground, for running about screaming and even playing with balls, despite the fact that people were eating in expensive restaurants. They were so loud even if there was only two of you, you couldn't have a proper conversation.

We quickly realised the backstreets were to be preferred, as no space to run about shouting and the owners seemed more on top of it as presumably had the sense to know it would affect trade.

We were in a British restaurant, sat at a table on a raised part of the room. There were just three steps up, which were about three metres wide, our grandaughter was sat on these steps, playing with a toy, but not moving about, whilst waiting for our meals. The restaurant manager came and asked if we would “keep the little girl under control, and have her sit on one of the chairs provided”.
We walked out in disgust!

We live in a non-touristy part of Spain, here, in bars & restaurants, the children are allowed to, run about, play and make some noise, but it’s not riotous, unruly or overly loud. The parents, staff and bar/restaurant owners just allow the children to be, children.

As has previously been mentioned, it’s a cultural thing.