Should Children Be Banned from Restaurants?

After a restaurant in Pennsylvania banned children under the age of 6 from their establishment, the Internet has been abuzz with conflicting opinions on the matter. One Salon staff writer, Mary Elizabeth Williams, has some fantastic points on the issue. Will the restaurant owner only create more problems for himself with this ban on children? Will he inspire other establishments to follow suit?

The biggest problem with this philosophy is first that children are people. They are not toys, pets or electronic devices. We were all children once. No mother has ever given birth to an already-six-year-old. People start off as children. Then they grow up and some have children of their own. Many people claim discrimination when it comes to the topic of banning children from restaurants.

I have four children of my own and I don't like to eat with screaming children, either. My children do not behave this way in public or at home. To assume that every parent is ok with snotty, screaming brats would be an incorrect assumption. Yet to assume that every child under the age of six fits this description is also incorrect. In fact, it is my youngest children who are usually the most silent in public places like restaurants.

What about the young couple with a newborn who sleeps through the whole dinner who want to enjoy a nice evening together without hiring a babysitter? I guess they won't be eating at McDain's of Monroeville, Pa. that's for certain.

I do feel that establishments should have full rights to remove ANYONE from their building who is not behaving appropriately. I've seen plenty of adults who deserve to be banned and to assume that all children are "screaming brats" is biased behavior. So, the family with a screaming baby that won't calm down might be asked to leave. The woman who had one too many cheap margaritas screaming profanities that can be heard across the restaurant- also can be asked to leave. It should be situational; not banning all children from an entire restaurant. The exceptions to this rule being private clubs and facilities as they should always be able to cater specifically to their private clientele.

When it comes to public restaurants, starting to ban certain people based on age can be tricky. Why should my family be forced to eat next to rowdy, unruly hooligans because it's the only restaurant in town that doesn't ban children? That's incredibly unfair.

I completely sympathize with people who are bothered by unruly children. Once when I was 8 months pregnant, I was knocked into and nearly knocked over by young children running wild in the grocery store. Another time, while eating in a restaurant on a date with my husband (without my children), a kid in the seat behind me got food in my hair. I sighed and thought We're on a date to get away from children.

Sure, it's annoying. Bad parenting should be corrected but to ban an entire class of people from a public place simply because a few do not know how to behave is a risky move. This problem could just as easily be resolved by asking rowdy guests (regardless of age) to calm themselves or to leave the establishment. I used to work in a bar and I know first-hand that not everyone who drinks alcohol acts like a monkey. For those that do, we kindly show them where the door is.

What do you think? Should children be banned from restaurants?