It seems that not everyone loves babies—especially some businesses.
A Monroeville restaurant will ban children under the age of 6 from its dining area beginning July 16 after receiving noise complaints from older clientele. The small, 40-seat McDain’s Restaurant and Golf Center located in Monroeville, Pa., resides on a golf course and attracts older customers, according to ABC News.
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“We have had lots of older people complaining, and the parents refuse to do anything about their kids’ behavior. They just ignore it,” said owner Mike Vuick.
McDain’s eatery isn’t the only business to prohibit young children this year. Several restaurants around the country have done so, including several in New York, The New York Daily News reported.
Also, Malaysia Airlines recently announced it will bar infants from flying first-class, and last February rumors swirled that Virgin Atlantic and British Airways were contemplating child-free planes to mollify travelers who complained of crying babies, according to ABC News.
“The way airlines feel about kids has changed. Air travel has gone from being an experience to [something] commoditized. A seat is a seat is a seat…By and large you’re just self-loading cargo, and that includes your children,” travel author and consumer advocate Christopher Elliott told ABC News.
Some parents are taking offense.
“What if all restaurants decided to ban children?” one commenter asked on the blog CafeMom.com. “Children get treated like they’re not even human.”
“I wouldn’t go there and give my money to a place that’s discriminating against kids,” wrote another.
But Vuick may not have to worry about a customer strike. One North Carolina seafood restaurant, Olde Salty’s, placed a “No screaming children allowed” sign on its front door last year and said that business has picked up.
“People know they can come in and enjoy their dinners quietly. They always comment on the sign and take pictures and tell us ‘I love your sign,’” an Olde Salty’s manager told ABC News. “The only ones who seem to get upset are the ones who don’t control their children.”
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