Oh serving the child a third pint would be a mistake, I think. They can’t hold it, you see, and are liable to start brawling and shouting. Not that anyone would notice much difference in a Weatherspoon pub.

Far healthier to let them go outside for a blast of fresh air and a packet of crisps and a can of vimto while the parents get sozzled inside. One positive effect of the smoking ban is that there’ll be someone there to keep an eye on them.

Hmmm, I’m afraid I’m still of the opinion that children don’t belong in pubs full stop. Having recently had the misfortune to be in a Wetherspoons pub, at lunchtime, in the ‘family area’, my conviction was strengthened.

Alcohol may play a pivotal part in the conception of most children, but I don’t see why it has to take a part in their public life.

Puss

I largely agree, Puss (though I do wish there were many more places - not pubs - where kids were welcome), but I don’t think it’s a pub’s place to welcome you in for a meal and then dictate how many pints you can drink. Banning kids: fine. Restricting kids to one room: fine. Asking families with uncontrollable kids to leave: fine. Stipulating that kids can only be on the premises between certain hours: fine. Ringing the rozzers if people are drunk in charge of children: certainly.

But having a sign outside most pubs saying “families welcome” and then telling adults how many drinks they may or may not have with their meal - that’s intrusive and vulgar.

Then again, a pub chain that thinks it is the ideal place to hold a wanky referendum on the EU constitution is hardly a place I’d want to take my child.