Do you bring your baby to the bar?
Sounds like a ludicrous question, at first. But think about it – bars are often more than places to get lit. In a lot of neighborhoods, they serve as a gathering spot and the drinking is secondary.
This story from The Poop, the San Francisco Chronicle's parenting blog, discusses the writer's attempts to get into a bar/gallery/"space" with her little baby to see her husband speak at an event. She was denied, and questions why the rules have to be so strict at places that are not all that strictly defined.
I've got to agree. I mean, I have friends who play in a late-night hockey league and have their young kids with them at the smoke-filled bar for after-game beers until closing time (one of them is the same friend who implies I am a bad parent for not similarly keeping my kid out all hours and keeps telling us we need to teach her to stay up later — yes, we need to teach our baby to sleep less. No, he doesn't have kids yet and I can’t wait).
I think that's a bit inappropriate, but having your kid out before the whole smoky social scene commences, to meet a friend or have dinner or whatever? Fine with me. There's a local brewpub here that has half off food Monday nights and the place is rife with families from about 5-7:30 pm. If a place is smoke-free (we live in one of those rare places you can still smoke indoors), we figure it's fair game until the singles show up, which is past her bedtime anyway. Adults shouldn’t be limited to places with nothing stronger than chocolate milk on the menu.
I think the thing to remember here is once you become a parent, it's Not About You anymore. Your social life is going to change, and prowling the bars until closing time is probably best saved for babysitter nights. But exposing your kid to a wide variety of places, some of them where alcohol is served, sounds good to me.
