Bar owner's rules, I'm afraid. Loads of bars have "no top, no service", won't let you in wearing flip flops, or if you have exposed tattoos etc etc.

I'm not opposed to a blanket ban on babies in bars, but I also really like to be able to have a quiet drink without the mewlers and pukers ... um ... mewling and puking!!!

Reply

I also go to Tattoo'ed Mom's. They also have a craft night (I think sundays?). I think if the bar serves food and functions as a restaurant, kids are fine. If there are live bands? The noise is way too loud for tiny little ears. My parents took me everywhere, and I mean everywhere, but I also wasn't allowed to RUN AROUND like it was a playground unless, well, it was a playground. There are people walking around with glasses of liquids, some of which could be hot, and when glass breaks, well, I bet those mothers will have something to say.

I think it's great for the bars to offer a mommy afternoon, that's cool, but if you are a stay at home mom, face it: not everyone wants to deal with your kid. It's a sad fact of life and if those hipster yuppie parents can't take it, then they should open thier own bars themselves, seriously.

Reply

My bar = my rules. I'm not a breeder and I don't want to be around kids in a bar. If it is a restaurant kids are OK, but kids don't belong in bars. I don't think it is fair to the kids, either. Candy and crayons notwithstanding they just aren't for kids.

Reply

KIDS DON'T BELONG AT BARS! What good mother in her right mind would take a child to a bar? What part of no one under 21 don't they understand! I am in my late 20's and when I go to a bar I don't want to hear someone's brat crying. If they want to go to a bar get a baby sitter. I have friends with kids babysitters are not that hard to find. If people can't find one too damn bad. You made you choice to have the kid now deal with repercussions.

Reply

DK and Dawn above expressed exactly how I feel. It is beyond ridiculous that anyone would be in a bar with their child. If you want to have a drink while caring for your kid you are retarded.

Reply

As one who frequents Union Hall, I'm all for keeping it reserved to the 21+ crowd. I mean, it features a bocce ball lane, for goodness sake! Flying bocce balls, beer, bands, (potential) broken glass... just not a place for kids. It's a BAR, not a Gymboree.

There are plenty of places for moms and kids to hang out in Brooklyn and a bar just isn't one of them.

Reply

I can't believe anyone would take their child to a bar! Isn't that illegal? Under 21 and all that? I would never, EVER return to a bar that allowed children of ANY age in. I think the only time I could possibly conceive of a reason why a child might need to be there is if it's a) the child of someone who works there or b) the child of one of the band members...and even then, it would have to be a REALLY good reason. How horrible. I understand young moms want to go out and have a drink once in a while with friends, but that's when you go to a restaurant. Sheesh. Babies in bars. My mind boggles.

I'm not usually the type to speak up to strangers, but man, I think if I saw a person with a stroller or a kid or a baby or whatever in a bar, I would just rip into him or her. What the heck are they thinking?!

Reply

What part of under 21 is hard to understand? I mean, the rule isn't 'under 21 unless you're also under 5' right? So what would make these parents think that it is ok to bring small children into a bar?

Reply

Has no one been to Ireland or the UK? It's common to see babies in pubs in Ireland, and believe it or not their moms are able to enjoy a pint of Guinness without crashing their strollers and damaging the babies for life on the way home. If the kids start screaming, the moms (or DADS, imagine that!!) take them outside until they calm down.

I don't have kids, and in fact find them kind of annoying in general, but the babies in strollers in Irish pubs were 10000 times better behaved than most American kids I see in public places. Maybe it is the residual Guinness in the breastmilk.....

Reply

I wonder how many of you who are saying no way to babies in bars have children of your own. Let me tell you that it's a total shock to suddenly not be welcomed at so many places you were able to be at before. As someone without family near me, I had to stay at home for months. And it was hard and depressing. I realize that I did this to myself (and happily), but I think it'd be nice for a bar to have a night where this was okay. Or maybe for a bar to cater to families. I'm not saying that children should be running around barefoot, but if the children can be well behaved and this is not just some random bar where no one wants them there, I think there's no harm.

Reply

Strollers and babies do not belong in bars. What ever happened to good old commom sense? Why put the baby, or child in harms way, you never know when some one is apt to be too drunk and cause a brawl.

Reply

Bringing a baby into a bar is borderline child abuse in my book. Get a babysitter if you want to go out, I'm sure you'll have a much better time anyway.

Reply

Wow, what a bunch of uptight posts! You'll notice that Union Hall *does* allow children after banning them. Wonder why that is? Maybe because their customers didn't like being banned. Guess it's hard to stay in business if you're uptight about who you'll allow. I'm all for "my bar my rules," and also for "my money, which I'll spend when I like."

Reply

Laura,

I don't think kids belong in bars and I am a parent. I work from home and my now 3 year old son is with me during the day. My family is 1500 miles away, so I don't get much of a break either. Why not see if there is a babysitting coop near you, or start one if there isn't? A few of my friends and I have an informal one, works great for date nights and we're not out $70 for a college age babysitter.

When I go out, the last thing I want to do is grin and bear it while some parents are letting their toddler/preschooler run around or use an "outdoor voice" because they're bored. Last two times I've been to the Melting Pot, I've ended up with chunks of raw meat landing on our table, courtesy of bored kids. I guess maybe I'm oversensitive, but I find that having to keep a small child entertained through a meal at a nicer restaurant means I'm too stressed to actually enjoy my meal. Kind of defeats the point of going out.

Reply

Louise Crawford's opinion on this matter holds no sway with me, considering that she thinks it's just dandy to change a baby's diaper on the counter of a restaurant, and can't understand why others might find this objectionable.

http://onlytheblogknowsbrooklyn.typepad.com/only_the_blog_knows_brook/2005/12/postcard_from_t_5.html

Reply

in korea, people bring their kids (babies, tots, and kids) to korean bar/pub type places all the time. it's odd to see, but it's even weirder to see these kids out all night running around inside and outside (climbing trees and horsing around near the streets without the parents even keeping a look out) when they should be at home in bed. kids over here dont have bedtimes i dont think...

Reply

It's beyond ridiculous for children to be in a bar. Period. It's not whether I'm a parent or not. It's common sense. If you're lonely and need to get out and occupy yourself, seek out a more suitable place where you are welcomed with your child and your stroller -- there are numerous options. It is far too easy to seek out those options, for me to believe that Commenter 10, Laura, has any valid argument whatever. Depressing? Trying going out for a cocktail and hearing squawling children interrupt what may be the only break *I* got all week, too. Worse, try seeing a mother in a bar with her child, having a drink. That's the best choice she could make to get a minute of relaxation? Now that's depressing.

Reply

Wescraig - because a bunch of yuppies used to getting their way decided to bully a bar owner doesn't make the situation any more clear or correct. Who cares if the people people posting don't have children? Why do people who DO have children think it's our responsibility to understand their SELF-IMPOSED plight while not giving a fiddler's fart about how the childless feel? You choose to have the damn kid (bless him or her and their future sense of entitlement)...why is it so hard to understand that one of the last places most of us can go where there are no children we feel the need to defend? That's not uptight in the least. It's frankly very sensible if you can step away from the mashed bananas long enough to see the point.

Reply

You had your kids, and now you want to get bent. I get it.

Here's the thing: taking your kids, with their noises, smells and their innocence, into a bar spoils the whole experience for the other bar patrons. If you weren't so desperately trying to reclaim the youth that was forsaken when you procreated, you would agree.

Why, you ask? Because you once were like us! Not long ago, chances are you were young, energetic, and care free - and you spent long hours hanging out in bars, looking for or spending time with the same sort of people.

Now you're a parent. That's a tough job, and it often raises a thirst one cannot quench with tang alone. So go nuts! But don't be a tool about it. Don't stop protecting your kids so you can indulge yourself.

Get a babysitter, or better yet go to Applebees or Chuck E Cheese, because unlike your local bar, children (and their inconsiderate jackass parents) are welcome there.

Careful not to step in the baby vomit.

Reply

As I peer into my crystal ball, the headline I see in the near future . . . if this trend continues:

"Father loses parental rights after nite in strip club with toddler"

"People" do stupid things. "People" do 3 times as many stupid things while drinking.

Lastly, full disclosure; I dislike children in general. It is generally bad enough to have a parent not care if their kid screams thru my whole meal/movie/shopping experience/walk thru the park/doctors visit/subway ride because they are "used" to it. But the first time some parent, with their kid, tells me to either keep it down or "watch my lanuguage" because there are kids around is getting a punch in the mouth or a pint poured over their heads.

Man, I got all heated huh?

Reply