This is what the Dolphin in Sydenham has on its website about this issue, in case anyone's interested! Children at The Dolphin The Dolphin attracts a wide range of customers and we welcome them all, but also recognise that we have to manage our space so that everyone can enjoy their time with us. Here is our policy regarding children in the pub. Our licence stipulates that children and young persons under 18 are not allowed on the premises at any time unless accompanied by an adult. It is our policy that children under 12 are not permitted on the premises after 9pm. It is also our policy that children must remain seated and supervised at all times . And here is how we arrived at this policy? The topic of children in pubs always generates a huge, polarised and often heated debate. Some people love children, while their very presence drives others mad. Do you turn the pub into a playground and take the not insignificant income local families bring, or do you pin up the old sign ?NO CHILDREN ALLOWED. BY ORDER OF THE MANAGEMENT? to appease the old regulars at the bar? Are children running around screaming in a pub garden any more welcome than a group of men drinking cans of beer in a children?s playground? Can you really keep both camps happy? We believe it is possible, but requires consideration and tolerance from everybody. We designed the Dolphin and its garden for adults and the decision not to include a children?s playground was deliberate. We don?t offer a children?s menu, but that doesn?t mean we don?t welcome children with their families who want to enjoy a meal and a drink together. Children should enjoy the privilege of being in a pub, but it is a pub and a pub is an adult environment. The signs on our doors read ?This is an adult environment, Children must be seated at all times.? Some people find these signs offensive. They are not meant to be, but they are a clear statement of our position in the debate. Over the years we have had complaints from many of our customers about children running around and playing both inside and in the garden. Some of them voted with their feet and did not come back. We have to respect the needs of all our customers and so must insist that parents have their children seated with them at all times. We are absolutely not saying that children aren?t welcome, but asking that everyone enjoys the pub for what it is and is considerate of our other customers around them. As a rule of thumb, if you are patiently following your toddler around the garden worrying that they aren?t sitting, don?t worry, but if you are enjoying a drink and your paper and haven?t really seen your child for a while, it?s probably time you went and found them.
