I grew up in a pub and it’s no place for children
A PUB in St Albans has come under fire for putting up a sign that reads “Dogfriendly, child-free”. One drinker, called Kyle, posted a photograph of himself next to said sign with the caption: “Found my new local”. It sparked a heated debate: is the pub an appropriate environment for children?
Social media and a couple of news segments on television channels were typically lacking in nuance. Not all pubs are created equal. A quiet country bolthole serving roast dinner on a Sunday afternoon is not the same as a boozer in Croydon on a Friday night. It is not difficult to work out which would most likely create a more inviting atmosphere for a 10-year-old.
I grew up in a pub half the time. My dad owned one in Carshalton. He kicked kids out at 6pm sharp and generally they were only really allowed in if eating. I wasn’t even technically allowed in the public bar when really young. If he saw me sitting under a table drawing a picture of a heron, he’d tell me to go upstairs. Usually I’d ignore him. And then by 11 or 12, there was no getting rid of me; by 13, I was working in the kitchen, chopping vegetables and washing up, and by 16 I was serving behind the bar under an apprenticeship scheme which I can’t imagine any longer exists.
My dad’s pub was a relatively friendly space — Carshalton is a fairly average south London suburb and nothing much ever really happens. Fights were uncommon and if a flurry of pool cue-based anger did spark up, they were quickly dealt with. My dad always said to me: “If I’m not there and there’s a fight, call the police and tell them someone’s handed you a fake £20 note. They’ll be there in a flash. Don’t say there’s a fight going on, they’ll take ages.”
I still witnessed far more than I would have had I been in a house playing a games console. I saw all manner of unsavoury goings-on: a Frenchman pick up a table and throw it at the band in the corner; a man put a knife into the tyres of my dad’s BMW; instances where women would be treated disgracefully.
Ultimately, city centre pubs are simply not appropriate for children. Kids are loud and vulnerable, slapdash and chaotic. For the most part. And they are unpredictable.
Pubs are places where adults go to get merry, chatter, smoke cigarettes and eat chips. Chances are at least three or four people will be salacious. These are no places for children. Bringing them as a parent is irresponsible.