Get a freaking babysitter! That thought has crossed your mind more than once when you’re sitting in a crowded theatre trying to watch a movie that is non Disney, and frankly non-kid friendly, and yet you hear a screaming child. Maybe you’re trying to enjoy your dinner or fly to see your parents for the holidays, and again you are interrupted by parents who refused to pay for a babysitter, drive, or stay home if they couldn’t afford other accommodations for their child. Why are you suffering when they are the ones who chose to be parents?
Technically, there are way too many parents out there who don’t want to be, which really begs the question why did they go through with the pregnancy or adopt in the first place. Still the same, while there are mothers who raise hell every time there is an issue with breastfeeding or places that don’t want kids, there is a growing number of consumers who love these places.
We love places that put up a sign, who talk to others who don’t control their little ones, and who basically tell other people for us that your child is interrupting our time out, we are paying good money to be here instead of home, maybe we’re even paying for babysitters ourselves, and you are being rude. We pay ridiculous amounts of money to dine in a no kids allowed restaurant at Disneyland of all places, we pay extra for that little line on our wedding invitations that says, “please leave kids ___ and under at home”, and when McDain’s, a Pittsburgh restaurant, banned kids under 6, we rallied behind them. They lost some business, but some servers aren’t complaining, and neither are consumers who are used to sitting beside them.
According to Robert Klara of Adweek, “Brat bans could well be the next frontier in destination and leisure product marketing.” This writer notes an entire website dedicated to this movement, LeaveThemBehind.com, which provides a huge list of luxury resorts as well as lower cost bargain hotels that do not allow children.
Call it what you will, many of us agree that even if we like kids, we have the ill behaved brats bred by so many who want to go to a luxury restaurant, but can’t seem to afford a babysitter. Isn’t it cheaper to pay for a babysitter than to pay for their food at a nicer restaurant? That’s what I always figured, unless of course the babysitters of the neighborhood are afraid of your children, in which case, other methods are necessary.
There are theatres in Texas who have banned kids under 6 completely, regardless of the movie, except on baby specified days. Who knows, maybe even kids 7 and 8 can’t stand the crying. Naturally, we argue that kids are going to want to see movies like Harry Potter, but when parents are taking infants and small children to see Underworld Awakening…..as they often do…..we’re sure you can see why many are jumping on the wagon.
Keep in mind, business opportunities may open up for those who provide a finer dining experience for parents with small children because of this. However, the early bird gets the worm, and so far, it seems that businesses who are willing to ban kids are on a profitable track.