@@@ children banned in Singaporeans restaurants @@@

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Jan 6, 2011
Casual eateries join ban on kids
Like fine-dining outlets, they say children disturb patrons

By Huang Lijie & Jessica Lim
A sign outside PS. Cafe's Ang Siang Hill Park outlet stating its no-child policy. The chain said the outlet's city location and shophouse space make it inappropriate for kids. -- ST PHOTO: NURIA LING

THE ban on children at restaurants here is extending its reach from fine-dining establishments to include even casual restaurants.

Such eateries cite the same reason their more upscale brethren do - to avoid rowdy behaviour that disturbs other guests.

PS. Cafe, a home-grown chain, allows only patrons aged 13 years and above at its newest outlet near Ann Siang Hill Park. A sign on its door reads: 'We're sorry but PS. Cafe @ ASH Park can admit adults and teenagers only.'

Its three other cafes in Paragon, Palais Renaissance and Harding Road, however, welcome children.

The chain's business development manager, Mr Edward Lee, 32, said it was a 'difficult decision' to keep children out, and added that it was implemented from a 'practical and safety point of view'.

'We have patrons from the nearby Central Business District who use the place for their lunchtime meetings and they do not want children running around,' said Mr Lee.

He also pointed out that the shophouse space is 'not very child-friendly': It has no place for parents to park their prams, and the second-floor dining area is accessible only by a flight of stairs.

For such eateries, the age limit is usually set at six years, although some raise the bar much higher - to as old as 15.

Eight Cafe & Bar in Bukit Pasoh, which has been open for two years, is also introducing a no-child policy at the end of this month. Its owner Bill Ho, 34, tells customers that the restaurant is not suitable for young children and does not have chairs to seat babies. However, he does make exceptions for customers who arrive at his doorstep with children.

For Mr Ho, the new policy to bar children below 10 years of age is part of the outlet's marketing strategy: 'Most of our customers are young executives who do not want to be disrupted by crying children. It is a haven for young adults.'

Other restaurants that refuse entry to children include fine-dining Japanese restaurant Kuriya Penthouse at Orchard Central and The University Club at the National University of Singapore, which serves modern European and Asian fare.

But Kuriya Penthouse, whose target clientele are discerning adult gastronomes, makes an exception on Sundays and public holidays, when it lowers the age limit from 15 to six.

Its spokesman said it revised its no-child policy in the middle of last year, following requests from regular customers eager to introduce their children to Japanese haute cuisine.

While some diners welcome the promise of a quiet meal at these restaurants, others with children are put off by the 'discrimination'.

Mrs Karen Yeo, 38, a civil servant with a seven-year-old son and three-year-old daughter, said: 'Eating out is usually a family affair for me, so it is a put-off when restaurants reject children.'

She said she would not support these restaurants even when dining out without her children.

The Centre for Fathering's executive director, Mr Wong Suen Kwong, 49, said he hopes the practice will not discourage parents from bonding with their children over a restaurant meal.

'There are other child-friendly places they can go to,' he said.

Ms Claire Chiang, senior vice-president of Banyan Tree Holdings and co-chairman of the Businesses for Families Council, said it makes 'good business sense' for restaurants to implement family-friendly measures to 'tap the rich potential of the growing family dollar'.

She cited a 2005 study conducted by the Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, which found that family-friendly food and beverage (F&B) businesses earn 15 per cent more in revenue than regular eateries.

The same study said young parents, who are willing to pay more for a high-quality kids' menu, spend about $2 billion annually on F&B.

She said: 'The question is how we service the needs. For example, we can set special meal hours for children, like between 5.30pm to 7.30pm as in Britain, to have special sections in the restaurants which are farther away from adult-only areas.'

Others, like Mr Tim Rice, 31, think the no-child rules are fair. Said the bank executive, who is single: 'It is private property and restaurants can restrict whoever they want. They do it to attract a certain clientele.

'Personally, I agree with the point of it. I go to a particular venue not just for what it sells but for its ambience.'

He compared 'some coffee places' here to kindergartens.

'Babies are screaming, and you just cannot enjoy your coffee,' he said.

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[tonychat]

If the restaurant can go further, they could have added the rule that children of parents with first world unsinkified behavior that can handle the children well are welcome.

 

[SIFU]

Restuarants that i owned banned ladyboys and pimps.

 

[Leongsam]

The restaurants should simply ban all sinkies and PRC nationals. Peace and quiet will prevail in no time at all.

 

[red amoeba]

The restaurants should simply ban all sinkies and PRC nationals. Peace and quiet will prevail in no time at all.

==

cool idea...i wait to see how long these restaurants will last before they crumble to dust.

 

[shOUTloud]

It is the right of the operators to decide who can/cannot enter their premises. But I will impose blanket ban on PS Cafe from now on.

 

[red amoeba]

i agree to that...its the right of the owner / business to admit who they want.

cinemas should also do that .... i still hear wailing kids in movies rated PG...WTF...its extremely disturbing to have wailing kids when you are trying to catch a movies..and the parents seem oblivious to their wailings.

 

[ThePlen]

Kids banned at Singapore restaurants

More Singapore eateries, even the casual ones, are putting a stop to kiddie diners, much to the relief of adult patrons

There is a popular saying that goes "Kids should be seen and not heard."

Some Singapore restaurants, not just the fine-dining eateries, aren't taking the chance that the little tykes will comply and are banning young children from their premises.

PS. Cafe at Ang Siang Hill boldly states on a sign at its front entrance that it's "adults and teenagers only" at its newest branch. However families with young children are welcomed to dine at their other three outlets.

According to a report by The Straits Times, the restaurant only allows patrons aged 13 years and above to dine there. The report goes on to quote the chain's business development manager, Mr Edward Lee as saying that while it was a difficult decision, it was implemented from a practical and safety point of view.

PS. Cafe isn't alone. There are a number of other restaurants that aren't afraid to state their preference for diners of a certain age group.

Fine-dining restaurant Gunther’s Modern French Cuisine on Purvis Street states on its website, "Gunther's has a no children under the age of 7 policy at the restaurant."

Similarly, Japanese restaurant Kuriya Penthouse also states on its website that it has a no-children policy, but makes an exception on Sundays and public holidays for children above the age of six.

For some, this ruling is more than welcomed.

"As much as I love children, I want to eat my meal in peace with no crying babies and kids running around the table," says Leong Yuet Har, a regular PS. Cafe patron.

"I am all for banning kids under 12 years old," says Patricia Chong a mother of two teenagers. "My reasoning is if you have paid for a baby sitter on a night out away from screaming kids, the last thing you want is to encounter it during your hard-earned meal or date."

"I think it is a great idea," says Mrs S. Bett an expectant mother. "Mealtimes are sacred and when there is food on the table -- be it at a meal at Les Amis or McDonald's or in your own home -- children (if seen) should definitely not be heard.

"My husband and I have already decided that we will teach our kids to sit up, shut up and eat their food like mini-adults.

"If they don't, we won't take them out with us, it's just not fair to other diners."

 

[silverfox@]

If I am a paying customer, to hear a baby bawling in a restaurant is torture. People who disagree with such rules are only thinking about themselves and their families disregarding how other customers would feel.

It's not a question of discrimination, neither upbringing of kids. To put a ban means before that there are many similar occurrences which already happened and cause inconvenience to other paying customers. I put it as PAYING.

 

[sadfcuk]

It's not a question of discrimination, neither upbringing of kids. To put a ban means before that there are many similar occurrences which already happened and cause inconvenience to other paying customers. I put it as PAYING.

I agree with that. It is not that the restaurant opened with an outright ban on kids; the ban came into effect just recently.

For everything there is a limit. Patience has a limit. When that limit is reached, people will blow their tops. This isn't something that has happened overnight. Noisy kids in restaurants never really happened like 5-10 years ago.

Seems like the later part of the X-generation and some of the Y-generation with kids are not bringing up their offspring in the correct manner.

 

[eatshitndie]

I agree with that. It is not that the restaurant opened with an outright ban on kids; the ban came into effect just recently.

For everything there is a limit. Patience has a limit. When that limit is reached, people will blow their tops. This isn't something that has happened overnight. Noisy kids in restaurants never really happened like 5-10 years ago.

Seems like the later part of the X-generation and some of the Y-generation with kids are not bringing up their offspring in the correct manner.

it has nothing to do with x, y, z generations. it's an annoying trait(and inconsideration) attributed to asians in general. even here in the bay area, it's fucking annoying to walk into a gala dinner at a 5-star hotel dressed in tux (formal wear requested in invitation card) only to find a bunch of asian parents losing control of their kids and letting them run around tables and adults. it's an adult function, and these morons should have the decency to hire and pay for baby sitters to look after their precious at home. if white, black, and hispanic parents can do that, why not asians? both chinese and indians parents are repeat offenders, and imo, they are fucking lame. and why are some worse fuckers bringing their parents and entire families for dinner? only couples are invited. they could have asked their parents to babysit their kids at home if cost is an issue. but this is once in a year, and the occasion is special. if i were the organizer and host of such an event, i would have kicked them out. bunch of inconsiderate arseholes.

 

[123456787654321]

Phew, finally! Undisciplined kids, talk about being in a losing situation. Don't do anything, you have to stay in place and remain annoyed. Walk out, you lose if your food has already been served. Talk to the manager? Most likely he won't do anything. And finally if you're brave enough to POLITELY talk to the parents, suddenly they're all over you as if you've just molested their children! Good riddance at long last.

 

[sadfcuk]

it has nothing to do with x, y, z generations. it's an annoying trait(and inconsideration) attributed to asians in general. even here in the bay area, it's fucking annoying to walk into a gala dinner at a 5-star hotel dressed in tux (formal wear requested in invitation card) only to find a bunch of asian parents losing control of their kids and letting them run around tables and adults. it's an adult function, and these morons should have the decency to hire and pay for baby sitters to look after their precious at home. if white, black, and hispanic parents can do that, why not asians? both chinese and indians parents are repeat offenders, and imo, they are fucking lame. and why are some worse fuckers bringing their parents and entire families for dinner? only couples are invited. they could have asked their parents to babysit their kids at home if cost is an issue. but this is once in a year, and the occasion is special. if i were the organizer and host of such an event, i would have kicked them out. bunch of inconsiderate arseholes.

Sorry, I never really was invited to any tux events before. But I never really noticed these things like half a decade before...

It seemed like the dam burst and all the crap social problems spilled into society ever since the FT influx began in Singapore (not saying FTs are at fault here).

 

[sam heng]

The restaurants should simply ban all sinkies and PRC nationals. Peace and quiet will prevail in no time at all.

Why don't they just relocate to other country? like that their business got more chance to survive haha

 

[makapaaa]

Nothing more than another consequence of overcrowding in Peesai due the FAPee Traitors' determination to exterminate Sporns.

 

[jw5]

Sorry, I never really was invited to any tux events before. But I never really noticed these things like half a decade before...

It seemed like the dam burst and all the crap social problems spilled into society ever since the FT influx began in Singapore (not saying FTs are at fault here).

Another reason for all the increasing social problems is the rising numbers of "not-so-rich spoilt brats". It's not just the FTs, although they also play a part.

The rich, famous and powerful tend to control their children well. Not because they are good and kind people, but because they tend to be afraid how their childrens' behaviour reflect on them. But there rich spoilt brats have existed since the beginning of time.

The increasing numbers of "not-so-rich spoilt brats" in recent years and even some poor ones have led to increasing social problems, as they also want what the rich brats have, but some of their parents either can't or can barely afford them. The poor parents feel they have nothing to lose, hence they don't control their kids. All these lead to more theft, spoilt behaviour, aggression, greed, perhaps even more killings.

 

[silverfox@]

The increasing numbers of "not-so-rich spoilt brats" in recent years and even some poor ones have led to increasing social problems, as they also want what the rich brats have, but some of their parents either can't or can barely afford them. The poor parents feel they have nothing to lose, hence they don't control their kids. All these lead to more theft, spoilt behaviour, aggression, greed, perhaps even more killings.

Children with bad upbringing are the ones making noises everywhere they go. Bawl, run around, making a nuisance of themselves. Their parents obviously either accept what their kids are doing or do not know how to bring up their kids.

So when we say that these kids have no upbringing are actually scolding the parents. These parents would never accept the fact that they are not accepted in restaurants which banned children. They think why they have money and yet be discriminated just because they have kids. These adults in general are selfish people. They only think about how they can bring their kids out and they do not think whether other paying customers can enjoy their meals.

These kind of incidents are all unwritten rules. Children should not be left running around, crying or making noises disturbing others. Shouldn't even be said. The implementation of this rule shows that to tell people nicely, they wouldn't listen. In a way its telling them, if you want to bring your kids out, go other family restaurants.

Not only restaurants. You go to a cinema and catch a movie and you get this young kid asking the parents throughout the movie what the actors are talking about. sshhhhhhhhhh.....

 

[jw5]

Children with bad upbringing are the ones making noises everywhere they go. Bawl, run around, making a nuisance of themselves. Their parents obviously either accept what their kids are doing or do not know how to bring up their kids.

So when we say that these kids have no upbringing are actually scolding the parents. These parents would never accept the fact that they are not accepted in restaurants which banned children. They think why they have money and yet be discriminated just because they have kids. These adults in general are selfish people. They only think about how they can bring their kids out and they do not think whether other paying customers can enjoy their meals.

It's both, the parents accept and they do not know how to bring up their kids to be considerate people, perhaps because they themselves are not. Sometimes they bring their kids out to give themselves and their neighbours a break.

Agree that it's the parents' fault. The worst is not in a restaurant or a cinema, the worst is on a plane. You can't even walk out!!!

 

[GoldenDragon]

Dogs should also be banned from kpts and hawker centres. Some owners even placed their dogs on chairs and the very same chairs are sat by humans after the dogs leave. Hygienic?

 

[Ramseth]

Dogs should also be banned from kpts and hawker centres. Some owners even placed their dogs on chairs and the very same chairs are sat by humans after the dogs leave. Hygienic?

Pets are banned*. But stray cats and crows aren't.

(*insisting on enforcement is another matter)