I don't see a problem with it if:

• the bar serves equally as a restaurant
• the bar is not overly crowded and the child is not taking up a space that a paying patron might
• the timing is appropriate
• Neither child nor parent is causing a ruckus

I hate the idea that parents need to board themselves up into their homes until the child is a teen, especially when livign in a city--in a neighborhood, rather, that would like young families to stick around! If you can't enjoy the local establishments, and the schools suck, why not move to the suburbs?

Furthermore, I think a child can learn a lot about how to behave in public if they are exposed to the public frequently. It's hard for a young mind to grasp what is appropriate and what is not in a particular setting if they are exposed to it so infrequently. Telling a youngster how to behave is far different than actually showing them, and turning behaviors into good habits. I think that it makes them better adults. That said, I'd be bothered by a 2 year old running around a bar at midnight. But a kid just chilling at a table with some crayons and a sippycup at dinnertime is no big deal, even if he/she squawks unpleasantly occasionally.

Not if they're accompanied by a parent or parents happy to be out for breakfast/lunch/early dinner...

Your comments are very anti-baby and I'm highly offended.

Ok, I'm totally not offended.

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Kids don't belong at bars.

You know who is a good tipper? Me. And If I had a kid, and decided to bring the kid to a place that serves food, I would probably overtip to compensate for the lost seat. I do this when I am eating alone, too, because I feel that I owe it to my server for taking up a 2-top all to myself. It takes nearly as much work to serve a table of one as it does a table of two.

my boy is only eight months old, but he'll outdrink and outcuss any of yous. and he tips like a jackpot winner at a casino. in fact, he IS a jackpot winner at a casino. so when you see him crawl in and ask for a six of chesterfield to go, i'd advise you to give it to him.

oh wait, who am i kidding, he can't even crawl. sigh.

*Gulp.* I feel a need for a clarification coming on. I'm going back to edit my original post, but I feel the need to state it at this point in the thread, too.

I don't see a problem with kids seated at tables at restaurants with bars, or at bars with tables (call it what you will), until some reasonable hour (that would be somewhere between 8 and 10 in most cases).

I don't think that kids belong on barstools at the bar.

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My oh my. I'm afraid I might have sparked this thread with a comment on the yell o'bar menu thread.

My husband and I have been to yell o'bar twice with our daughter (age 10) now. Both times were for dinner, the first time was fairly early (6-ish) and the second time I started out with my daughter alone b/c my husband was working late, but she took her sweet time with the homework so it was probably 7:30 when we arrived, but still, it was early in the week and it wasn't too crowded. Since it was just the two of us, I made the mistake of asking her if she wanted to sit at the bar or at a table. (Mind you, this was the "upstairs" portion of the bar that faces the restaurant side and is typical table height with normal chairs.) She picked the bar, but as soon as we sat down, the bartender very politely told us we needed to be at a table and we moved immediately. Frankly, I would never have considered sitting at the lower bar with her, but the upper one seems more akin to seating at the counter at a diner than a bar, so I just wasn't thinking of it as a "bar." As it turned out my husband was able to join us so it worked out for the best.

Like Banba, I would never take her to Grace -- too much of a typical bar atmosphere. We've been to Sidecar for early dinner and brunch, but I wouldn't take her there when it's crowded or late. Same with 10 Stone. And, same with yell o'bar. However, I think it's fine to take kids to most of these "pub-style" restaurants as long as it's early in the evening before things are likely to get rowdy. The kid's a pretty good eater and is every bit as likely to order an adult entree as a kid's meal so I don't think anyone is shorted by having her there. Plus she's used to eating out and is probably better mannered than a bar patrons -- especially after they've had a few (which is why I wouldn't want her out late).

I think if our area wants attract and keep families, being able to take kids to neighborhood places is a critical component.

A.

yes- you started it.

Sycamore person was not following vein of thread becasue none of us were speaking of traditional bars but more bar/ restaurants
Mr. S. my kids will out run/crawl/drink and/or tip yours anytime- maybe a competition is in order?

I was at Monk's a few weeks ago on a Saturday evening (6ish), and the table next to ours was a couple with 2 kids.
Didn't really bother me at all, though I think Monks is a lot more fun for a 30 year old than a 3 year old, but the place was busy enough and loud enough, that even if they were freaking out, it would be hard to hear them across the restaurant.

I think a little boy going to the corner bar with his dad has a cute novelty to it, as long as he can just sit down and shut up or play with a toy or something.

I can barely stand going to places like Continental, or virtually anywhere in Old City anyway, kids usually provide an interesting show in a conversational environment anyway.

I whole-heartedly agree with the Juice as far as exposure to the Public for kids - that's one of the great things about living in the city - the diversity of people (even far beyond ethnicity) does a lot to make anyone, let alone kids, think of people who are different from themselves. I grew up in the burbs with a bunch of Irish and Italian catholics, and it wasn't until 2nd or 3rd grade that it began to sink in that not everyone in my school wasn't catholic and lived in a house just like mine. Even though I visited my grandmom in South West Philly every weekend, I always kind of thought everyone in the Burbs was just like me.

The City life is great - on my walk home from work, I saw rich MILFs in Washington Square, a schizo at the SuperFresh, and an obese and likely diabetic black woman in a wheelchair screaming to a shop owner about how horrible Imus is for saying "Ho" versus rappers because she could "hear the hatred deep in his soul."

Cheers, kids!

There are countless ways to teach your children about diversity and expose them to civilized society outside of a BAR. When you have kids you're signing off on your ability to get dinner and a drink anywhere, anytime; isn't that what some people consider as one of the downsides of having children, the changes to your everyday life?

Just because you live in the city doesn't mean your kids in a bar -- how quaint and quirky city life is! -- is as charming to other patrons as you think it is. I'd find it inhibiting if I were engaging in a crass conversation with some friends, even at brunch, with a 5 year old in the chair next to me.