I’m a Mum-of-One & I Absolutely Believe Child-Free Restaurants Should Be a Thing

Oct 5

In the world of heated internet debates, this is for sure one of them. There are Reddit threads dedicated to bullying talking parents out of taking their children to nice restaurants, where their little ones can kick up a fuss at a moment's notice and ruin everyone’s night, including the people who brought them there. With equal passion and aggressiveness, there are groups of people who believe that if you can’t stand the sight of children in ‘adult-type’ spaces and don’t want to deal with the complications of them being there, you should stay home.

What I’ll tell you is I perfectly understand both sides, but as the tired, now semi-experienced-ish mother of a small person, there are several reasons I could never take offence at the thought of child-free dining — for myself or anyone else. The ‘why’ is simple really: Children are just too darn unpredictable and to say that everyone, all the time, should have to deal with this peculiarity is just not realistic. For me, this is what it really comes down to.

This isn’t a debate about the rights and wrongs of breastfeeding in public, where there is an actual valid need at play, or taking your little child on a flight, where it’s the only way to get from point A to B; dining out is a fun, optional activity and I believe we all have a part to play in keeping it fun.

Don’t get me wrong; families absolutely deserve the right to go out and eat together, but can we be honest for a second and admit that when kids are involved, we can opt for somewhere more accommodating of their needs? Upscale restaurants, where steak the price of someone’s one-month salary is being served, and young children naturally tend not to get along. If I’m buying myself a N70000 dinner, parent or not, I really want to enjoy it and inconsolable babies can be a pretty sizeable buzz kill. Some spaces and experiences can only really be appreciated by adults and that’s absolutely fine.

Now, do I think a law should be passed banning kids from ‘nice’ restaurants? Definitely not. And do I think parents or guardians of young children should be made to feel even worse than they already do when a child is acting out in public? Not at all (really, please don’t do that. Just face your food and be kind). But, and it’s a BIG BUT, I think it’s just considerate to leave small children at home or with someone you trust when it’s time for proper fine dining. If you want to go out together as a family, go to a noisy, family-friendly joint with an exciting play area and more chicken nuggets than they can handle on the menu.

Everyone (parent included) deserves to have a nice time, so why create the opportunity for complication? Jus’ saying.