Are You in Favor of Brat Bans??

You know my opinion of law as it is currently formulated, so I am not willing to stipulate that the law is correct. I absolutely expect brat bans to be challenged in court, and given how bad our supreme court has sucked during much of my life I have no confidence that they will rule in favor of discrimination.

You see limits on children all the time. Adult swim times at the pool, no one under 16 in the weight room, etc. I doubt anyone would even bother claiming this was discriminatory. If someone didn't want my children in their establishment, I just wouldn't take them there.

The problem is that parents are being discriminated against because they have kids. I dont think that we can get too far into brat bans without them being challenged on these grounds. I actually dont know which way the Supremes should go if the Constitution is to be followed, nor do I know which way I would like them to go, but I have very little faith in the supremes either. This type of discrimination is a tough call for me...I am hoping that someone comes forwards with a great argument one way or the other.

I'm not arguing with your basic argument but I have been denied service (in a shoe shop) for my autistic son because he was 'bad mannered' . He was about 10 at the time and I would have thought it was clear to anyone who spoke to him that he had some form of intellectual disability - but apparently not.

I don't see that. Parents are welcome, they just have to follow the dress code, leave their non-service animals at home and come without children. Nor is the ban applied inconsistently. White children, black children, boys, girls, rich and poor children, all banned. If you can refuse to serve TSA agents and police officers I don't see how children are going to get a pass.

ITA

Ban bratwurst? You're mad.

I see no reason why a business should not be able discriminate in terms of the customers it accepts.

If that business discriminates too finely, it will not have enough customers to keep its operations afloat.

People with children do not have a right to spend their money in whatever private establishment with which they wish to engage in commerce.

I know there are plenty of children who are well behaved enough to present little risk of causing a disruptive ruckus, but I don't trust parents to accurately identify them. Once the children are in the establishment and start acting up, it's too late. Very few owners are going to ask parents with screaming children to leave, no matter how much their other patrons want them too. From a practical standpoint it is a much better solution to simply ban kids under a certain age.

When I go to a fine (and expensive) restraint with a sophisticated and adult ambiance, I do not want to hear children shrieking. I doubt I am alone.

I see no reason why such an establishment should not be allowed to cater to the whims of the majority of its patrons.

I also do not want to share floor space with an a-hole who is loud and obnoxious, but there is no practical way for the establishment to prevent this, and so I will have to chalk the unfortunate incident up to bad luck. I suppose I could insist that management rid the premises of such an a-hole, but it's unlikely such a move could be accomplished without even greater disruption or in time to make my dining experience untainted.

I wouldn't have a problem with people bringing their kids into a fine dining establishment is they left as soon as one of their kids started acting up, but of course that's rarely the case.

I have three kids and they were all once of an age that can be problematic. We limited our dining out to so-called "family" restraints where a bunch of kids in the place was expected. If someone went to Red Robin and complained that kids were allowed in, I would laugh at them.

It would never have crossed our minds to bring them to a fine dining establishment where the other patrons were paying between $75 and $100 a head.

Unfortunately, in today's society to many people have virtually no consideration for other people and so we cannot trust their own discriminatory practices. Business that cater to a strictly adult crowd need to be able to ban kids.

That was the standard when I was coming up in Rockford Il during the 60's-70's, but this code is long gone. Negligent parents who refuse to teach their kids how to behave in public, and also refuse to monitor their kids in public (or worse do pay attention to them and cheer on their misbehavior) is a factor in why we are where we are.

Exactly

My little boy is autistic as well. He has some very fixed opinions. The other day one of his schoolfriends told him that he had a lion, an elephant and a monkey in his bedroom. My son will not even entertain the possibility that this may not be true, and yes, I have tried suggesting that the lion, elephant and monkey may be toys/pictures. He's having none of it.

Ha. My son didn't speak so well when he was little. He's 18 now and we're still helping him work out when not to take things literally .... 'Do you think Amy really eats giraffes or do you think she's joking?' We're also having fun with the difference between joking, lying and just making a mistake.

My little boy is 11, he is about to move from primary school to secondary school. (I live in the UK.) His primary school is mainstream, but his secondary school is specialised. He already knows what he wants to do with his life, shear sheep, or as he puts it 'sheep hairdresser.' Fortunately there is an agricultural college down the road he will be able to go to when he reaches 16.

Brats NYET, Kielbasa TAK

I kinda like them white brats.

I like children, if properly prepared.

-- attributed to W. C. Fields

I think this is also a valid comment. If you go to a family restaurant, expect to see families there including children. Complaining that all those children making noise on the playground is ruining your McDonalds experience doesn't get a lot of sympathy from me.