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Park Slope, Brooklyn, has gotten a reputation in the past few years for being, well..a stroller mecca, to put it mildly. The tight-knit community, safe streets, and good schools make it a natural choice for couples looking to raise a family. The stroller news - moms taking over coffee shops to hold "Mommy and Me" playgroups - seemed to have died down, until a January blog post by Park Slope columnist, blogger, and mom Louise Crawford. The proprietors of Union Hall, a neighborhood bar that features local bands, hung a sign that read, "No one under 21 admitted. Please, no strollers."
The owners cited liability and safety as the reasons for the new rule, saying that the bar's bocce court and open stairwell didn't mix well with kids running around shoeless.
According to Crawford, who was featured on a recent NPR story about the issue, the bartender has since loosened the ban, and now wants to start a late-afternoon group specifically for moms and their babies.
I'd imagine that the bartender had little choice in the matter, though - those Park Slope message boards can be ruthless, and one person is only so strong when they're staring down a half-dozen moms and their Baby Joggers.
The Times article had a quote from a woman who was incredulous at the "cubes, crayons, and candy" at the top of the bar. For the record, a bar I frequent in Philly, Tattooed Mom, serves up toys and Dum-Dum pops alongside PBR and shots of Jim Beam. And while I thoroughly enjoy these nods to childhood, that's all I need...a nod.
What about you? Do you think it's too harsh to ban kids and strollers from a neighborhood bar? Or is it completely legitimate to ban whomever you want from your bar, especially if you're worried about their safety?
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2-21-2008 @12:27AM H F Newman said... Crunchbrigt says - I'm a mom and I don't want kids in bars. It's not safe for them or appreciated by the people who want to have a drink - quiet or not. People who are drinking could get drunk, stupid, loud, mean - the list of negative possibilities is endless. Keep the kids at home. Going out? Get a sitter.
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2-21-2008 @12:05PM king2squire said... not a good idea. especially if smoking is allowed. but I agree with Alex. It is ultimately the bar owners choice.
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2-21-2008 @12:05PM Joe Blow said... I'll put my two cents in on this topic. It'll be okay unless your kid knocks over my drink. If this occurs I'll start a tab for he or she. I'm not trying to corrupt a youngster, I'm just trying to share the good times. Show them how to put change in the juke box and know your favorite song. Teach them to laugh at you when steals your wallet while your "gettin jiggy with your crew" or whatever. Please don't use a baby bottle as a flask because if you black out... you might drink your baby's milk and waste your booze on your kid. If you can't find your lighter, just keep it pinned to your kids bib. Just don't let them play with matches or get hooked on second hand smoke. Relax... I'm just a big drunk baby myself. You'll live, nothing to start drinking over. Har har har. I'm my number one fan.
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2-21-2008 @12:05PM P.J. said... Well, this just shows that common sense isn't common anymore. WHY THE HECK WOULD ANYONE TAKE A BABY TO A BAR? A bar is an adult establishment not a family night out option. What part of NO ONE UNDER 21 should be up for debate? For the sake of the children, do not take them to a bar! If you have children be a parent and not just an egg or sperm donor. Parents have the responsibility of protecting their children - not just physically; but even emotionally, not to mention spiritually. There is nothing about the bar scene that will enhance the lives of a toddler. They stagger enough just learning to walk, they don't need to be hanging out with a bunch of staggering adults lolol - not. Grow up parents. Leave the bars to the adults.
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2-21-2008 @12:05PM P.J. said... Well, this is just another example of the fact that common sense is not common any more. WHY THE HECK WOULD ANYONE TAKE A BABY TO A BAR? Bars are adult establishments. They are not places for babies/children. When you become a parent, it should become apparent to you that you have new responsibilities. You, as a parent, are responsible for the proper care of your child - physically, emotionally and even spiritually. A bar does not foster a good physical, emotional or spiritual environment for children. Bars are not and should not be family establishments. Quit being cheap and irresponsible. If you need a night out, GET A BABYSITTER (that will not have toddler bar time with your kids to get them to sleep through the night lolol). What part of NO ONE UNDER 21 is baffling to you? If you cannot understand that, you don't have enough education or common sense to even be a parent. And to the bartender who caved in, ARE YOU NUTS? When one of those little ones get glass in the foot, whiskey in the eye, or sneaks a few sips and gets a blood alcohol level that sends them to the emergency room, you will be liable while mom and dad weep in their beers. WAKE UP PEOPLE. SOME PLACES ARE FOR ADULTS ONLY. Signed a responsible parent who knows how to separate adult from kid activities!
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2-21-2008 @12:04PM DK said... In Colorado it isn't the bar owner's choice. Children are allowed only in bars that serve food - and only before 6:00pm. After that it is no kids, period.
If you have kids your responsibility to them includes being a good parent. Taking them into bars is not good parenting. I used to frequent a biker bar where one man would bring his 2 very young children so he could get hammered. They were bored to death and he was plastered by the time they left. He should have been arrested for driving with them.
Kids are welcome most places - but bars are not for children, no matter what.
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2-21-2008 @10:23PM Mart said... Never in a million years would I take my child into a "bar"........now, I may if it was a restaurant/bar.....but not in a neighborhood bar.
Kids don't belong there and the parents don't need to be drinking and driving with precious cargo along. If they make a stupid choice and get drunk and drive and kill themselves, then that is their problem. Just don't kill the kid with you.
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2-22-2008 @9:32PM Laura said... (Not the same Laura as before.) No, I don't believe children should be in most bars in the U.S. But I also don't believe bars should be the way they are. They're just as harmful and inappropriate for adults as they are for children.
(a)People here don't want kids in bars because they don't want to be exposed to badly behaved children on the one hand, and on the other, people don't want kids in bars because the children will be exposed to badly behaved adults. I agree that parents need to discipline their kids. But I also think that adults should discipline themselves.
(b)Some posters here seem to think that the only reason to go to a bar is to get drunk, get in fights, or hook up. There are a lot more reasons to patronize bars and to drink alcohol: socialization, the taste of the alcohol (if you don't believe that, don't even try to argue with me because you're just a philistine), to get out of the house and talk to someone new. I know that doesn't describe most bars in this country, but it could if there were a market (like, say, parents with children). And not every parent who wants a beer needs it to "cope" any more than any of the child-haters needs it to "cope."
(c)There is something very wrong with a society that separates families based on the ages of some of their members. How do children learn how to be adults? By being with adults. For this reason, I am just as much opposed to venues like Chuck E. Cheese as I am to "over 21" establishments. No wonder Americans are so emotionally immature.
If the owner of any sort of establishment wants to invite in a certain group of people, he is entitled to do so. And if it makes him more money, all the better (you know, for the economy). We need to be a lttle more open-minded about what is possible, not just accept what exists.
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2-24-2008 @1:15AM tiamokendra said... . . .
bars shouldn't allow kids, even babies to be in a bar, i dont think i would ever return to a bar, if i saw a child inside of one, im not even legal to go in a bar yet, but if i was old enough and i saw a child in a bar, my bar night would be ruined thats for sure
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5-08-2008 @3:49AM t said... Has everyone gone insane?
Why in the world should a baby be in a bar...ever? I have a toddler and would NEVER bring him into a bar. It is inappropriate, unsafe, illegal and stupid. What's next? Tots in strip clubs? Infants in clubs? People need to get a grip.
When people decide to have children they need to grow up and recognize they no longer are the center of the universe. Besides the fact that not everyone thinks their "precious" treasure is the most darling, adorable, etc.
If I go to a bar, which is incredibly rare and expensive since I have to hire a sitter or Dad has to opt out, I never think..."Gee, I hope there are some babies there!" Give me a break!
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