Ah! the little darling...

The Good Pub Guide has reported a dramatic increase in complaints about badly behaved children in pubs ruining it for other patrons. Partly this is due to a deliberate effort on behalf of pubs to make themselves more family-friendly and attract more parents with children, but of course the main problem lies with parents who are oblivious to their children's behaviour, and let them run riot. Strangely. I've noticed round where I live a growing tendency for pubs to shut down in-house ball parks which they previously had and where kids could go to let off steam, and this certainly doesn't help matters, but really this all goes back to the "progressive" thinking of the late 60s and early 70s, when it was considered that any attempt to stifle your child's behaviour was bad, and that you should allow them to do whatever they wanted. Those children have now grown up and treat their children just the same in turn. As ye sow, so shall ye reap!