As a parent of young kids, finding somewhere to go out as a family is not always easy. No parent wants to spend their entire afternoon at Chuk-E-Cheese. In recent years, for lots of families, local breweries have been kind of a third space for families. It’s a lively, louder environment so that kids can be a little more boisterous, and since a good number have large outdoor areas, kids can get their wiggles out while parents sip on an IPA. Many breweries have even caught on and added kid-friendly spaces and food options. At the same time, there are often drink limits and limited hours, which makes the environment better than a bar.
In other words: people with young kids have found they can happily kill a few hours at a family-friendly brewery.
And while this may be great for families, child-free people or adults looking to get away from their kids may have differing opinions about families hanging out at the local brewery, like one woman on TikTok who went viral.
In her video, TikTok user Rachel Writes Books shared her “POV” at an “adult brewery.” The clips included seem to capture children running and crawling on the floor. You can hear their little voices shouting and laughing while Rachel sips her beer.
“I’m not even an adult who is anti-kids at breweries but it’s not a playground where they can run wild #brewery,” she wrote in the caption.
In her comment section, thousands of TikTok users agreed with the OP.
“I never understood why places that serve alcohol need to be family friendly. Mom and dad are drinking who’s gonna drive the kids home?” one user asked.
“It’s every brewery and I don’t understand it,” another wrote.
One user said, “Work at a brewery. Not only is this annoying it’s also unsafe for people carrying drinks and hot plates of food.”
One mom, who brings her kids to the brewery, weighed in on this debate.
“My kids aren’t allowed off their chairs or they are taken to the car. I bring coloring books, polly pockets, or Legos for them to play with,” she wrote.
Someone replied, “Your children don’t belong in a brewery.”
Other parents took up for the mom, noting that they also bring their kids to breweries. In fact, some breweries market themselves as “family-friendly.”
“Do you know that some breweries have table games. No one said anything about going to get wasted. Someone could’ve been out ALL day doing stuff with and for their kids and they can decide to have dinner and ONE BEER AT A BREWERY,” one user wrote.
Another said, “I don’t get why families are unwelcome in breweries. I’d rather my childed friends be able to go out once in a while.”
There seems to be a common denominator here — parenting styles. Kids should be welcome anywhere — full stop. With that being said, it’s up to parents to ensure that if they’re bringing their children somewhere, anywhere, they own the responsibility for their children, ensuring they are acting appropriately based on the setting.
