I am single and I have no children and no pets of my own. I have family and friends who have them and that is great. I enjoy when my brother has to head out of town for a few days and I get to spend time pet sitting for his Boston Terrier, Mr. Finnegan, and I love when my niblings (a gender-neutral term for nieces and nephews — look it up, it is a real word. I promise) come to visit and I get to be the cool guncle (gay uncle — another absolutely not made up word) who lets them do whatever they want.
Because I am single, some people automatically think I am a sad, lonely gay man who stares out the window longingly for Prince Charming to show up. I assure you that isn’t the case. I enjoy my alone time and have many friends who I can reach out to and hang out with if I need human connection.
I have also been accused by some in my life of hating kids and animals because I do not have, nor want, any of my own. The truth is I have no problem whatsoever with living, breathing creatures under your watch, but I do not want to look at hundreds of pictures and videos of them doing unexciting activities like eating, jumping or attempting to do a cartwheel. The only exception is videos of babies uncontrollably laughing and pets trying to talk like humans. I do get a kick out of those.
I also don’t think that everyone else in society should be responsible for dealing with your children or pets. Service pets aside, you don’t have to bring your pets into every place you visit and every business doesn’t have to cater to your children.
A friend recently shared a post on her Facebook page from Nettie’s House of Spaghetti, a restaurant in Tinton Falls, New Jersey. In the post the restaurant shares its new policy that children under 10 will no longer be permitted to dine at Nettie’s.
“We love kids. We really, truly, do. But lately, it’s been extremely challenging to accommodate children at Nettie’s,” the post reads. “Between noise levels, lack of space for highchairs, cleaning up crazy messes, and the liability of kids running around the restaurant, we have decided that it’s time to take control of the situation. This wasn’t a decision that was made lightly, but some recent events have pushed us to implement this new policy.”
A handful of people managed to comment on the post before Nettie’s turned them off but in between those that made it on and comments on the restaurant’s other posts, this decision seems to have divided people. Some complaining that their choice to place an age restriction was “really sad to hear” or was a “harsh” policy and some cheering on the idea, writing “I agree with this 100%” and advising those who are upset about it that “There’s always take out.”
Personally, I applaud their decision and hope more restaurants — particularly those in the Central Florida area — start to adopt this policy. People need to start realizing that not all spaces are for everyone. There are lots of restaurants and businesses geared toward families and children. Having a few locations to go to for those who are looking for a quiet evening with no kids being loud and running around would not only be a selling point for me but I would think it would be a welcome change for parents who are maybe looking for a night away from their kids and don’t want to deal with the noise of other’s children.
I saw several comments on Nettie’s page with parents complaining that their kids are always well behaved and never make a mess, and they shouldn’t have to be punished. I think they need to stop looking at this as a punishment and look at it as a lesson that not everything is for you. Also, your children are not as well behaved as you think they are. Parents always think they have perfect angels and I hate to be the one to break it to you, they are not. All children, especially younger ones, have their moments of frustration and anger and communicate that by yelling, crying and throwing tantrums. Your choice to have kids is not my problem to bear.
When I was a teenager, I worked at a Carmike Cinemas in Plant City, Florida that had one of its theaters affixed with a kitchen and bar. It was called Mugs & Movies and in the last showing of the night, regardless of what film was playing, patrons were allowed to smoke and no one under 18 was allowed in the theater. I can’t tell you how many people thanked us for having that policy — single folks, couples and even parents.
Hate me all you want mommies and daddies, but I would love to see this policy expand outside of restaurants and cinemas to include more businesses like live theatre venues and airlines. Not every single one of them but, like Mugs & Movies, have select flights and showtimes that are restricted to adults so those of us who want a grown-up-only outing can have that option.
