Vacation Mode:
No Children After Six PM
Vacation time means fun and relaxation. Yet, unless you opt for an adults-only resort, you’re bound to run into families with children and that can present a problem.
The question that arises is: should children on a vacation be included in all activities, including late night gatherings with adults? Is there going to be a children’s hour time limit? Some public venues have already created a time limit for children.
A restaurant in the city has changed its main policy. There is a neatly typed sign on their door that states this change. No, they haven’t gone formal or raised their prices. You can still BYOB and they’re still open until midnight. So, what’s different?
It is their child-friendly policy that has changed. The sign reads:
“No children under the age of twelve are permitted after 6:00 PM.”
The restaurant isn’t the only place where I’ve noticed this new type of policy. There is also a local theatre that prohibits children during the ‘adult hours’ which they classify as starting at 7:00 PM. There seems to be a growing trend or backlash from formerly child-friendly places. They are either limiting the hours when they will allow children or not permitting children at all.
The restaurant owner, when asked, told me that he was losing customers because of the presence of children during the dinner hours. When I said that my husband and I had never seen children misbehaving or causing a problem, he told me that behavior wasn’t the problem.
“Adults need their own time alone without children present.”
A few years ago, virtually every place you could name was child friendly. Certainly, there were times when it was inappropriate to bring a child but it seemed as if children ‘ruled’. In 2024, it seems that the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction and more and more adults are voicing their opinions that some places and times should be reserved for grown-ups only.
The way to change the minds of businesses to accommodate the adult population is the same method once used to insist on child-friendly places; money spent. Since a party of adults will spend considerably more than a family bringing small children, management will cater to adults. Restaurants and entertainment centers risk losing revenue if they don’t bend to their clientele’s wishes.
Some people see nothing wrong with limiting the children’s hour. It has been done for years in live theatre. Theatregoers are requested not to bring children under a certain age to evening performances.
Parents understand the need to bring children with them to a place where they will be welcomed. But as adults, they also appreciate having a place where they can go, away from all children, including their own.
Everyone needs their own space and their own time. Maybe it’s a good thing that not all places, at all times, are child accommodating. Adults need some time alone.
© 2024 copyright Kristen Houghton all rights reserved
