We would like to hear from people on what they think about hotels, restaurants and campsites that are for adults only, and whether they should be banned
She said: “A child shouts, laughs and moves … we are institutionalising the idea that silence is a luxury and the absence of children is a luxury.”
While it is nice not to be around screaming children, I’ve never thought of it as a luxury. Even “luxury” seats on airplanes can’t promise to be child free. Children aren’t a protected class as far as I know so there should be no problem with private businesses that want to exclude them.
I have no kids but I love kids and I like being around kids sometimes but, sometimes I like it when they aren’t around. I did a camping trip last week and one of my friends left early because a family showed up to their site after dark and the parents let the kids run around and scream even after we explained that it was after quiet hours. She couldn’t take it any more and left in the middle of the night.
So in my opinion, there need to be places that are child free or at least days and times when kids aren’t allowed. Many of my local museums offer 21 and over evenings where they serve alcohol and you can enjoy the exhibits without children around and it’s a very nice compromise.
It could’ve been a radio, but it wasn’t. It was kids screaming and parents not taking responsibility for their children. To me as the one in that situation, it certainly seemed like the kids and their parents were the problem.
The article she talks about child free campgrounds so I felt this was an appropriate anecdote to share.
I also wasn’t advocating that that campground should have been child free, my story was meant to illustrate why some people prefer adult only spaces.
Many kids are just normal kids, sometimes they are loud. But then there are some who are absolute hellspawn, because of their parents. But we can’t make rules that say “useless parents with hellspawn not allowed” so we have to say “no children”.
It’s like alcohol. Most people are responsible with it and don’t get drunk and misbehave, but a minority ruins it for everyone else by puking, smashing bottles, and just generally being a nuisance, so the rules have to say no alcohol at all.
Yes, in this one very specific situation, enforcing the rules would’ve helped. It’s still doesn’t change the fact that if it was an adults only campground, this one very specific situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Children aren’t a protected class and there are plenty of business and establishments that they are not allowed to be in, usually because it’s illegal for underage people to be there. But, what is wrong with a private business, like a campground or a a restaurant being adults only? How is detrimental to the kids?
I recently went camping in France, so I can tell you that there are asshole parents, that do not have their children under control, but the problem goes deeper: Take a baby. Babies will wake up in the night because they are hungry or uncomfortable and they can only communicate with screaming. And parents will care about them, but initially the screaming of a baby is evolutionary designed to wake up people. Tents really do not have any noise protection - so if a baby starts crying in the middle of the night, everyone around will be awake. And there is nothing a camp ground can do rulewise against screaming babies, except banning babies. And let me tell you: It sucks when you’re on vacation and can’t get a good nights sleep.
And yes, that’s a problem. Banning babies sucks. Banning children from playing sucks. Even older children will cry or scream, that’s in their nature. Being annoyed by other peoples children suckt, too.
The basic issue was one family deciding the “quiet hours” rules didn’t apply to them, regardless of whether the disturbance was unruly children or a radio. And depending on what kind of campground it was, it may not have been possible to find the managers/rangers/whoever to get them to shut up. I’ve been in situations where a police response, especially to a low-priority noise complaint, is hours away - if you get one at all. I’ve also been in situations where, when pressed to shut up, they’ll do so - but only for ten minutes or so before they resume their full cacaphony.
Yes, and your original comment was that the person who left was over-reacting to the stimulus of the children, and would have been just as likely to have left if it was a radio.
While it is nice not to be around screaming children, I’ve never thought of it as a luxury. Even “luxury” seats on airplanes can’t promise to be child free. Children aren’t a protected class as far as I know so there should be no problem with private businesses that want to exclude them.
I have no kids but I love kids and I like being around kids sometimes but, sometimes I like it when they aren’t around. I did a camping trip last week and one of my friends left early because a family showed up to their site after dark and the parents let the kids run around and scream even after we explained that it was after quiet hours. She couldn’t take it any more and left in the middle of the night.
So in my opinion, there need to be places that are child free or at least days and times when kids aren’t allowed. Many of my local museums offer 21 and over evenings where they serve alcohol and you can enjoy the exhibits without children around and it’s a very nice compromise.
I agree with you. However, i have kids and I agree that silence is a kind of luxury i would be willing to pay for.
Sorry, some assholes flaunted the rules, your group asked them to stop and when they did not, someone from your group left?
That isn’t a problem that has to do with children. It could have as easily been a radio.
It could’ve been a radio, but it wasn’t. It was kids screaming and parents not taking responsibility for their children. To me as the one in that situation, it certainly seemed like the kids and their parents were the problem.
The article she talks about child free campgrounds so I felt this was an appropriate anecdote to share.
I also wasn’t advocating that that campground should have been child free, my story was meant to illustrate why some people prefer adult only spaces.
Yeah, I get it.
But what I am saying is: if we just enforced the existing rules we wouldn’t need to be talking about banning whole classes of people, right?
There is nothing about the situation you described that is exclusively caused by children.
Many kids are just normal kids, sometimes they are loud. But then there are some who are absolute hellspawn, because of their parents. But we can’t make rules that say “useless parents with hellspawn not allowed” so we have to say “no children”.
It’s like alcohol. Most people are responsible with it and don’t get drunk and misbehave, but a minority ruins it for everyone else by puking, smashing bottles, and just generally being a nuisance, so the rules have to say no alcohol at all.
Yes, in this one very specific situation, enforcing the rules would’ve helped. It’s still doesn’t change the fact that if it was an adults only campground, this one very specific situation wouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Children aren’t a protected class and there are plenty of business and establishments that they are not allowed to be in, usually because it’s illegal for underage people to be there. But, what is wrong with a private business, like a campground or a a restaurant being adults only? How is detrimental to the kids?
Yeah, that would be the best case scenario, but we live in reality, where you just don’t get these things.
I recently went camping in France, so I can tell you that there are asshole parents, that do not have their children under control, but the problem goes deeper: Take a baby. Babies will wake up in the night because they are hungry or uncomfortable and they can only communicate with screaming. And parents will care about them, but initially the screaming of a baby is evolutionary designed to wake up people. Tents really do not have any noise protection - so if a baby starts crying in the middle of the night, everyone around will be awake. And there is nothing a camp ground can do rulewise against screaming babies, except banning babies. And let me tell you: It sucks when you’re on vacation and can’t get a good nights sleep.
And yes, that’s a problem. Banning babies sucks. Banning children from playing sucks. Even older children will cry or scream, that’s in their nature. Being annoyed by other peoples children suckt, too.
The basic issue was one family deciding the “quiet hours” rules didn’t apply to them, regardless of whether the disturbance was unruly children or a radio. And depending on what kind of campground it was, it may not have been possible to find the managers/rangers/whoever to get them to shut up. I’ve been in situations where a police response, especially to a low-priority noise complaint, is hours away - if you get one at all. I’ve also been in situations where, when pressed to shut up, they’ll do so - but only for ten minutes or so before they resume their full cacaphony.
Ok, but we are in a thread about child-free places. 🤷♂️
Yes, and your original comment was that the person who left was over-reacting to the stimulus of the children, and would have been just as likely to have left if it was a radio.