Are Parents With Children Becoming the New Second-Class Citizens?
First, Malaysia Airlines banned babies from first class. Then, McDain's restaurant in Pennsylvania says children under 6-years-old are no longer welcome.
According to a Pittsburgh local news poll, more than half of area residents were in favor of the ban. Now, big businesses everywhere are taking notice and the No Kids Allowed movement is spreading like wildfire.
And I think it's crap.
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As Shine reports, complaints about screaming kids are being taken seriously, not only by airlines and restaurants, but by hotels, and movie theaters:
"Brat bans could well be the next frontier in destination and leisure-product marketing," writes Robert Klara in an article on the child-free trend in AdWeek. Klara points to Leavethembehind.com, a travel website for kid-free vacations, with a massive list of yoga retreats, luxury resorts and bargain hotels around the world that ban children
Charlotte Savino doesn't care if you call her a grinch or a misanthrope, she hates babies or children screaming in upscale restaurants. On Travel and Leisure's blog Savino lists several popular destination restaurants with kid-free areas and policies for travelers looking for quiet vacation dining. The post is titled "Child-Free Dining The (Blissfully) Silent Trend." Charlotte, get over yourself. Everybody hates babies or screaming in restaurants. It isn't a "trend". Guess who usually hates the screaming children most of all? Their parents. That's right. So cut us some damn slack already. Most of us are doing the best we can, removing the screamers immediately.
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Traveling is one thing but what about movie theaters? Kids were recently banned from an "adults-only" Harry Potter screening and one movie chain in Texas has banned kids under six altogether, except on specified baby days.
In Florida, a controversy brews over whether kids can be banned from a condominium's outdoor area. That's right, some people don't even want kids outdoors. What's next? The playground?
Look, I get it. I understand that kids can be annoying, IT'S THEIR JOB. But I am not at all cool with banning kids from anywhere. This is America for crying out loud! When did we go from "It takes a village" and "Children are our future" to "Get the hell out of here you loud, whining brat?" What if restaurants decided to ban elderly people because they take a long time in the restroom or constantly chew with their mouths open? I don't necessarily think that's true, but you get what I mean. Just banning folks willy-nilly isn't the solution. Why should I, a responsible parent who will yank my child out of anywhere if she's misbehaving, have to be regaled to second-class citizenship because of a few morons who think it's adorable when their kid acts up?
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If parents aren't controlling their children then the restaurant should totally kick them out on the spot. If baby begins wailing and mom or dad doesn't remove her immediately, they're idiots. But this ban thing is out of control. We can't go around banning large populations just because we're annoyed by them. Hell, I'd like to do away with loud cell-phone talkers everywhere, starting with restaurants, but it's just not the way America should roll.
As Piper Weiss from Shine puts it, "It is one thing if the businesses that decide such a policy will enhance their adult customers' experiences without causing them to lose family business are actually businesses about which this is true... It's another thing altogether if businesses which reap a fair share of their profits selling their goods or services to families with children suddenly decide to have child-free hours or place draconian restrictions on when and where children may be served. Busy moms and dads of young children find it hard enough to run errands or travel or otherwise conduct normal business without having to remember that their children aren't welcome at this store on these days or that restaurant during those hours."
Agreed. Won't families defect from these businesses in large numbers, not wanting to risk schlepping children there only to find it's another "childless day". How is that beneficial to business?
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Perhaps Robert Klara from Adweek has an answer. "Blame a wave of childless adults with money to spare. "Empty nesters continue to wield a huge swath of discretionary spending dollars, and population dips in first-world countries mean more childless couples than ever".
One fella, who has no children, by the way, is so outraged by the ban he took to YouTube to call anyone who agrees with the ban bitter, single people. He's pretty upset:
Do you agree with John, who wonders what the United States has become when children are being banned, children are, after all, the future, right? Or, on your next date night, will you be first in line at a childless screening of the latest flick?
Let us know on Babble
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