A landlord of a pub has said that he has now banned children from his pub, as a result of parents’ behaviour.
Egil Johansen, who for the past 17 years has run the east London pub The Kenton in Hackney, said that “entitled parents” now have a “lack of understanding that when you are in a public space, like in a pub, you need to look after your children”.
He told Sky News that as a result, he and his team are no longer able to manage the risk of children at the pub, which only serves drinks and regularly shows football.
“We’ve had a couple of accidents, kids have been running into people carrying drinks, they’ve been approaching dogs, poking them, stroking them, and then dogs are barking because they are feeling stressed, which has then caused confrontations with parents”, he said.
The pub posted an Instagram update in November, telling customers that “lately, a few have mistaken The Kenton for a creche”.
Children were allowed until 5pm at the time, however the rule was under review, Johansen said.
“The sad end of the story is that we have now decided to become an 18+ only pub”, he added.
“That’s because these things have continued to happen despite having numerous posters around in a pub to please supervise your kids at all times.”
And some parents didn’t take the news well, Johansen said, as some were disappointed by the decision.
He added, however, that the reaction to the rule change has been “98% positive”. He said that he’s sympathetic as he is a parent himself, but that his pub is simply not right for children anymore.