I regret taking my children to the pub - drinking in front of them is not Ok

It’s a London pub garden in autumn. A rugby match is blaring from inside, and outside children ranging in age from two to about eight years old are running in circles chasing one another. One toddler is dangling off of a low wall. Another slightly older boy is stamping on an abandoned packet of crisps and watching with glee as the crumbs empty out on the ground. Their parents are possibly inside watching the match? Or perhaps sat at the table nearby, but pretending that they’re not related to these chaos-makers.

When I was growing up, I never set foot inside a pub , and going to a restaurant was a big treat – such a special occasion I remember writing about it in my diary. Now kids in pubs and pub gardens have become the norm . Since the Licensing Act was introduced in the UK in 200