CHILDREN BANNED
"I blame the parents"
Is USA leading the way again, will Britain follow this lead? There will be a lot of dispute, as indeed there has been in the US.
McDain's, a Pittsburgh-area restaurant, has banned children under the age of 6 from its dining area. Restaurant owner Mike Vuick said the policy came in response to complaints he'd received from older customers about noisy unruly children spoiling their meals. In an email to his clientele, Vuick wrote, "
We feel that McDain's is a not a place for young children … and many, many times they have disturbed other customers."
Malaysia Airlines already bans infants from flying in the first class cabin because other passengers had complained about screaming babies. And it is rumored that Virgin Atlantic and British Airways are being pressured to considering child-free zones and even child-free planes to appease business travellers who, according to a travel survey, listed unruly children as their number one travel-related complaint.
So, just when did our precious offspring become the bane of everyone else's lives? Are these bans even legal? Apparently yes. In USA Federal law forbids discrimination on racial or religious grounds, but there is no blanket protection for children. For business owners like Vuick that means they can set the rules.
For his part, Vuick said it's all about keeping his customers happy – the older ones anyway. McDain's is a small restaurant seating forty people. nestles on a golf course, so it's natural that the casual eatery caters to an older clientele. Vuick said, "
We have had lots of older people complaining, and the parents refuse to do anything about their kids' behaviour. They just ignore it."
Unruly behavior is exactly what recently infuriated Kristen Johnston of Third Rock from the Sun fame. According to the website TMZ, Johnston stalked off an L.A.-bound flight because another passenger could not or would not control her kids who were acting up in business class.
Christopher Elliott a consumer advocate and author of the syndicated Travel Troubleshooter column said that although the kids-or-no-kids debate on airplanes has been around forever, something has changed. "
The way airlines feel about kids has changed. Air travel has gone from being an experience to [something] commoditized. A seat is a seat is a seat. … By and large you're just self-loading cargo, and that includes your children." said Elliott.
In a tough economic climate airlines, like restaurant owners, want to please their best clients, which happen to be business travellers, not babies. "The case for getting rid of kids in first class is actually fairly solid. … When you're dealing with lie-flat seats and Champagne, a child is not going to fully appreciate that anyway," said Elliott. But the father of three adds, "
I think how a society treats its children is important, and getting rid of kids entirely is a whole different discussion."
Certainly the Pittsburgh-restaurant owner's decision to ban kids has caused a stir online. Mothers have been weighing in on various ‘mommy blogs’ expressing their outrage and insisting that Mike Vuick will eventually regret the day he closed his doors to kids. "
If said restaurant can afford the loss in money, then go for it. I don't care to go where I'm not welcomed." wrote one commenter.
Perhaps McDain's is taking their lead from the case of Old Salty's in North Carolina. Last year, the seaside restaurant posted a sign in its front window that read "
No screaming children allowed." And shortly thereafter, there was a storm of negative media coverage. So, how's business these days? According to the daytime manager, business has actually increased. "
People know they can come in and enjoy their dinners quietly. They always comment on the sign and take pictures and tell us "I love your sign." The only ones who seem to get upset are the ones who don't control their children."
Ultimately does it all come back to the same old thing – the selfish society we seem to live in now? People feel free to act, or allow their children to act, in any way that suits them, irrespective of how it affects anyone else.
I blame the parents!