Restaurant bans kids under six in our area and it is making headlines. (Penn: renting, closing)

[gg]

Children under six banned from Pennsylvania restaurant McDains | Herald Sun

I have no problem with any business owner having a rule like that in place. They are getting quite a bit of press over it. Will it end up in court because it is discriminatory? I hope not, but the media has gotten hold of it and it will no doubt be challenge by some extremist group.

[Caladium]

Even though I'm a parent and love kids, I have no problem with a restaurant or store choosing to ban kids under 6. Children can be very annoying in a restaurant, and the parents trying to control them are sometimes worse. There are plenty of other restaurants, so families have lots of places to choose from.

[WILWRadio]

If it goes to court I suspect the owner will have to provide documented cases of very bad behavior by children in the restaurant as well as bad parenting during these episodes in order to justify the new rule.

[raubre]

Originally Posted by WILWRadio

If it goes to court I suspect the owner will have to provide documented cases of very bad behavior by children in the restaurant as well as bad parenting during these episodes in order to justify the new rule.

That's going to be hard to prove. I also think he's going to lose a lot of business over this and end up closing shop within a year orr two.

[Aqua Teen Carl]

Whatever the case, this makes me want to check this place out. It's ridiculous that people think all of society should cater to their kids.

Perhaps it hasn't occurred to them that the only reason other places are "family friendly" is to get their money. Good for this place.

[hnsq]

How could this be discrimination? People under 6 years old are not a protected class.

[jay5835]

Originally Posted by raubre

That's going to be hard to prove. I also think he's going to lose a lot of business over this and end up closing shop within a year or two.

Are you serious? I think he'll get more business. I plan to eat there sometime after the initial swell of new patrons dies down. No one belongs in a restaurant who can't behave, and "he's just a baby" is no excuse for someone screaming at the top of his lungs or banging his toy car on the table while other people are trying to enjoy a nice meal. I wish every restaurant disallowed people who can't or won't behave, for whatever reason.

[greg42]

He probably already doesn't get a lot of business with kids, so making it official like this gets lots of publicity. I've sure never heard of that place before just now.

Is this the one getting national headlines though? I didn't think that one was around here.

Huh, I guess it was. I thought I remembered seeing the headline on CNN.com, and they do have it here: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/...iref=allsearch though it originates from WTAE (local to us) looks like.

[toosie]

My husband and I have been joking for years now about wishing there was a ban like this Very surprised anyone would actually do it - I hope he really knows his customer base and that his business survives/thrives.

[gg]

Last time I was in a restaurant that had a child of under six, the kid was screaming a lot, messing with a clock on the wall and the clock stopped, so it may have been broken and the area where the kid ate was a total mess. Oh and the kid was walking all over the booth seat. Was it worth having that family there? No. It was disruptive and the clean up was ridiculous. Some parents are really okay with such behavior I guess.

I think it will be tried in the media. It is moving coast to coast and fast!