Kids in Bars

There are several places like that in and around San Antonio, which is great news for me and my 2 year-old. One of them in particular (Random near Boerne) has had a phenomenal tap list both times I've been there. Scots Gone Wild while I chase my toddler and watch fireworks on the 4th of July? Yes please!

 

Sadly, some people suck at parenting. This is the only reason we even need to talk about this. Can't answer the question with a simple yes or no because there are too many factors that can swing it one way or the other.

 

As soon as my son could sit up he was old enough to ride in the cart at the liquor store. He has also been to breweries, brewpubs, and beer bars. Him being there doesn't bother me. I don't keep him out late and I don't drink excessively.

I personally don't much care for root beer but he loves it and the growler fill stations in San Antonio always seem to have it on tap. Can't be a coincidence.

 

Do they sell growlers of root beer? If so, that would be awesome if you guys both went and filled your growlers together.

 

Usually my son is well behaved if he has food or a toy to occupy him. This backfired a bit when my wife and I took him to Karbach in Houston. He was playing with his wind-up toy car and it rocketed across the table past me and ran into a beer glass of a group next to us. The beer owner's back was turned away from us and I caught the glass before it toppled over so no harm no foul.

 

They do and I did that once and found out quickly that he can't drink 32 oz of root beer before it is too flat. Even if we seal it and he drinks it over the course of a few days. More honestly we don't want him to drink that much root beer.

 

There are at least three places in SA that do growlers of root beer, and yes, we see quite a bit of parent/kid fills.

 

Yep. Fortunately, my kid is very well-behaved most of the time (all kids make exceptions, especially toddlers), and he was even better as an infant. He had a grand time running around the Freetail taproom (and brewing area during the tour) when it first opened, and I got some great pics. I look forward to eventually taking him up to JK.

Ultimately, you need to know your kid's limits. We can take ours to breweries and pubs during the day, but we can't take him to nice dinners like we used to.

 

I don't mind kids in bars. I used to give my kids a shot of whiskey before we went anywhere and they would sleep the entire time. Everyone complimented me on how well behaved they were! I started feeling bad for giving them hard liquor since they were only 4 and 6 so I stopped.

About a year later I let them drink root beer but the sugar would make them so hyper I could barely put up with them. I can't even imagine how the other people in the bar felt, especially at 1 in the morning! I had such a guilty concience for making everyone around me put up with my kids rowdy and obnoxious behavior that I started giving them whiskey again.

I don't feel nearly as bad since they're almost in the double digits, how time flies! Now my biggest problem is it takes 2 shots for each kid instead of the usual one. The little brats are starting to hurt my wallet Oh well, they seem to enjoy it and they're back to being "well behaved". No more guilty conscience and I'd like to think they're actually developing somewhat of a pallate for whiskey. If you could have seen the smile on the oldest ones face when my friend bought him a shot of Crown Reserve. It was the cutest thing!

I can't wait to get them started on beer but I'm afraid that will be more expensive in the long run. Once they're old enough to get jobs I might buy them a beer to celebrate but until then they'll have to deal with whiskey.

 

Been said, but depends on bar. And pre 8ish.

DH - sure
Nasty's - no

 

There are a lot of factors at play here.

First is the child(ren) in question. If they can behave themselves, not scream and not bump into people or knock things over, then generally I'm okay with it.

Second is the type of bar. There are some that are more neighborhood type places and are definitely okay. They serve food and are more of a social type place and that's fine.

Third is the parents attention span. Do they just let the little turds run amok and say nothing? Then no, those people shouldn't be allowed to bring their children no matter what the place is or how their kids act. This is the biggest problem with saying "yes" to this question. These parents who don't give 2 shits about their kids and let them be a menace to everyone else in the bar.

Fourth is what the parents plan to do at the bar. Having a few beers and talking with friends while the kiddo(s) are around is one thing. What I can't stand is people that are obviously drinking to drink and getting to the point they shouldn't even be driving themselves, much less anyone else.

Here is a perfect example of people and their children who shouldn't be at a bar. I was at Petrol with some friends. There are 3 tables that are next to each other against the front wall. The back is connected by a really long pew for seating. There is a woman at each of the far tables and nobody at the middle. There are 3 children there. 2 at the table to the right and one at the table to the left. We are standing in line and one of the kids is shrieking. Just letting loose. Nobody says anything. We get our beers and sit down at the middle table (no other options). Since there are 2 kids at the right table, I assume they are both her children. Well one of the 2 kids decides to walk down the pew and climb over my back. I shrug it off realizing that the kid is with the woman at the left table, not the one at the right. They must have been playing with each other. Okay I guess it's not a big deal. Kid who climbs over me continues to do so repeatedly back and forth and shrieking still. Mother doesn't say ANYTHING to the kid. Eventually she says "We'll be leaving soon, sorry". This is after at least 10 minutes of the kid going back and forth along the pew and climbing over me constantly. Not once did she ever say to the kid to stop doing it or to stop screaming, or anything. That is an example of a parent that shouldn't bring kids anywhere in public and misbehaving children. Those are the reason so many people would answer no to this question.

Cliff notes: Depends, not a black/white issue.

 

Ugh. Yeah, those brats should've stayed at home. Or at least been monitored better. In situations like that, I have no problem scolding someone else's kid if the parents won't do it themselves. No physical contact, no yelling. Just "please stop doing that" in a nice firm tone. If the parents have a problem with that, they can fuck off and drink somewhere else.

 

I go with a "No." Sure, different places and different types, variables and etcetera... But I seem to be in a minority by saying kids don't need to be in bars. Bars are where adults go to drink, unwind, and can speak easy, if you will. It's a right of passage. I hardly ever set foot in a bar until I turned 18. You don't usually see cartoons playing on TV at the bar. There isn't a jungle gym to run off excess steam. Why would there be a toy box sitting in the corner, and if there was, would you want your kids playing with toys that sit in a bar? I hear people at bars talking about their love lives, politics, business ideas, sometimes unmentionables (shivers). None of that is really child friendly banter.

And to those that bring there kids to bars, I'm not pointing fingers. Sometimes I see a kid and his parents walk in and it's ok, and ya know what? You're ok. You're being responsible (drinking, behaving, watching your kiddo), and there isn't rhyme nor reason for someone to protest that you have a child with you. I get it. Sometimes you can't have someone else watch Lil' Mike and his big sis Cassy. But there are times that a kid loses it. I didn't come here, buy a beer to listen to a child scream/be overly noisy or bored after a day of work, or my day off. The way I was raised, my mother, father, stepfather taught me that a bar was not a place for a child, and if I went to one, who was going to have more fun: the adult or me? And after a few drinks, who would be more responsible?

Take the kiddos to the park. Burn some steam off alongside them. Then head to the bar for adult-time and the beer will be all the more refreshing.