Badly behaved youngsters top list of customers’ complaints according to compilers of the Good Pub Guide

This article is more than 5 years old

This article is more than 5 years old

The ambience of the British boozer is being ruined by screaming babies and children whose parents allow them to run riot, according to disgruntled licensees and customers.

Badly behaved, unruly children was the number one bugbear cited in a survey by the compilers of The Good Pub Guide 2016.



The overturning of the pre-1995 ban on children under 14 being allowed in pubs in England and Wales has helped increase food takings, with the introduction of family dining, but the survey results suggest there may be an appetite for a return to a time before the rules were relaxed.

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Guide editor Fiona Stapley said landlords welcomed families, but “sometimes with their fingers crossed behind their backs”.

She said: “I think it’s something that’s been irking people for a long while. The majority of children are good in pubs, most are warmly welcomed. It’s this small persistent minority that spoils it for everybody,” she said.

“There may be someone sitting with a pint and a paper that doesn’t want to have a child running around unchecked, tripping up waitresses carrying food, bumping into tables and screaming.”

Stapley, herself a mother-of-two, said a number of pubs addressed the issue by having adult-only or family areas. While colouring mats and toys for children are available at many pubs, she said they were not typically found in the type of traditional pubs that feature in the guide.

She said it was parents’ responsibility to keep their children under control and respond reasonably to problems.



One customer’s response to the survey said: “My peaceful lunch by the fire with a pint was totally ruined by a child running around whooping and tripping up staff – and when asked to quieten down by the landlord, the poor man faced abuse from over-protective parents, ridiculous!”



The emotive nature of the issue was highlighted in July when the Waterfront in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, decided to bar under-fives from the pub completely and allow under-14s inside only until 7pm. A Facebook group calling for a boycott of the pub attracted dozens of members.

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Waterfront manager, Megan Morrish, said the decision was “made as a direct result of feedback from our customers. Some people were disappointed at this but the move has been welcomed by the vast majority, including couples with young children. It certainly hasn’t adversely affected our business”.

Colin Fletcher, landlord of the 13th-century Bush Inn in Morwenstow, Cornwall, a child-friendly pub, said problems with disruptive children were the exception rather than the rule.

“One Sunday lunchtime, there were a couple of families that came together, probably about half a dozen children aged from eight to 12. They were quite loud. A customer who was close to them did come to the bar [to say something]. I went to the parents and said we’ve had a comment and they respected that.”

He added: “What can be quite irritating is if [children] run in and out in winter and leave the doors open.”

Fletcher said the secret was “to get them something to do. If the children are happy, the parents are happy.”