Hi there. Seen on the forum that kids are welcome almost everywhere which is great. just wondering about baby changing?

Do they have changing facitliies or do you have to improvise.

Thanks

Hi Kenny - I don't know of any restaurants with changing facilities - improvise is definately the key. As in the UK, all public facilities (shopping centres, zoomarine etc) have the usual changing facilities.

Graham wrote:Hi Kenny - I don't know of any restaurants with changing facilities - improvise is definately the key. As in the UK, all public facilities (shopping centres, zoomarine etc) have the usual changing facilities.

No I don't either Graham.. and there should be with all the young families that are catered for.
We do have them here in UK, but theres been another area being debated here at the moment as well, and that is somewhere clean and quiet for nursing mothers to feed their babies. At the moment, all thats available in most public places is 'the loo'.
I feel strongly about this.If couples with babies & infants are welcomed at holiday places & public/commercial places, then these needs should be met.
(Ill get off my soapbox now )

I just can't comprehend how any one can find something as natural as breast-feeding offensive and want it banished from sight. OK, there will always be the prat that can't help leering, but I am sure 'security' could easily deal with those types. Sitting in the loo isn't the best place to do it.

All it needs is for one store (or whatever) to set aside a little place for feeding and treat mothers and babies with a bit of respect and consideration; and the rest of the stores might follow. If I were a store manager and I had a complaint from someone about allowing breast-feeding I would be very interested in hearing their reason. Being prudish isn't a reason.

I think that this thread started off with a request for baby changing facilities!

Having been in a resturant where a baby was changed at the table, this is the habit I find most offensive.

As far as feeding is concerned should this not be carried out before they are brought out in the evening?

I admit that I do not have children and therefore have not experienced the pleasure of them.

Len,

Your comment could start the longs thread ever.

I agree that chaning a baby at the table is unacceptable but that is far as it goes. Mums that are breast feeding should be able to whereever, whenever. Most mums can do it without it being so obvious.

I tell you what i find more offensive; smoking at the table right next to when they have just finished their meal and i'm about to start mine.

I guess differences are what makes this a better world and getting on with other people can only be a good thing.

Its just getting on is the hard bit.

I think Catz Pyjamas pizzaria has babychanging facilities, although im not certain

I can remember years ago, I asked at a restaurant if they had baby changing facilities.

"Yes sir, we do indeed"

"Then can you change this one for one that doesn't cry all the time !"

Kenny

I admit to being a smoker but I normally refrain if there are people around who are still eating.

I feel that if I am subjected to small children late at night (we don't usually start eating until after 8:00pm) then this is not being reasonable.

We usally scan the patrons in the resturants before we enter but some times we have to gamble.

I do not have a problem with breast feeding, just do not understand why the parents wish to have a late meal when they have young childen. Is this being unreasonable?

Len

We have had this conversation many times before, it is about being a responsible parent.

I would not dream of changing a baby at the table, afterall I don't toilet there, but I wouldn't hesitate to breatsfeed a baby there (the most natural thing in the world) but I can assure you that no-one would actually know I was doing it.

As for late dining, it is my holiday too, and you would all have been charmed by my children and never irritated by them. The late argument doesn't really wash - when they were little for two weeks in a year their day switched from 7am - 7pm to 11am - 11pm and I can categorily state they did not ever cause anyone else annoyance - in fact the most hardened anti-child brigade would comment on how charming they were and loved watching the four year make her way through a mountain of mussels for example (which to be honest at 14 can still keep her quiet for a couple of hours).

Maddi

Having been the Mum of 3 babies Im with Michael & Kenny on this one.

Len I don't think couples would take a very young baby into restaurant late at night. Im speaking specifically during day & early evening.
BTW, breastfed babies usually have to be fed on demand (I speak from experience ),
and sorry, but I also agree with the 'smoking' at table too. I would purposely avoid sitting near smokers whilst having my meal!

I have found that the facilities for both changing and breastfeeding to be superior in Portugal compared with the UK. Also you get a lot less disgusted looks when breastfeeding in Portugal, and much more acceptance.

I would never take my young children out to a restaurant at night. They have a bedtime and they always stick to it, whether we are at home or away. If away and we want to go out I make sure I pick a resort or hotel with babysitting facilities. I feel older children are not so bad, but should behave themselves when in restaurants. Yes, parenting.

I also hate being subjected to second hand smoke. I would not change a baby at a table. I would find somewhere else, but I would breastfeed at a table.

Manners, parenting etc.

M

I am generally with Misty here except for the obvious difference in our opinion about being away with young children and late evenings.

Secondly I would not agree about the facilities for babies/young children being better in Portugal than the UK.

I do agree that babies/young children are far more welcome everywhere in Southern Europe than in the UK or the USA, you are positively encouraged to make the children a part of your evening and in many restaurants get extra special treatment if you have the little ones with you. However the facilities themselves do not really compare.

You are unlikely to find baby changing units in restaurants, least of all with any complimentary consumables.

So as a parent I was always made to feel much more welcome when in Portugal but was seldom provided with the kit. In the UK, the kit is all there but I was usually treated like a leper or second class citizen.

Win some, lose some

Maddi

When I had my first 2 babies in 70s I think breastfeeding was more common than it is now and I can remember being out and about and feeding them in a discreet manner, but in public places. I recall once, we were on a seaside trip and my daughter of a couple of months needed feeding. I looked for somewhere quiet, but it was very busy. Then I saw a St John's Ambulance parked nearby,so H went up to the driver and asked if I could sit inside.......he said 'Yes of course'..so that day I had a very private place to feed my little one
Strange though isn't it? That people can be 'offended' by such a natural act?
But of course, breasts are seen in a different light now..plastic & all !

When I go out to CVO in September, I shall make a point of asking the restaurants I visit about the subject of 'Nappy changing' & 'Breastfeeding' facilities.
Hope you have a great holiday Kenny

I have a 5 year old son and my partner is a heavy smoker so I fall into both camps. I would walk out of a restaurant that allowed someone to change their baby's nappy on the table.

If someone wants to smoke, then providing no one is eating I don't have a problem with that. If there are ashtrays on a table, then it is obvious that it is a restaurant that allows smoking. You can make your choice accordingly when you decide where to eat.

I have no problem with people breastfeeding, but I don't enjoy some mothers making such a big deal of it (and believe me they do). I know how easy it is to be discrete and when I breastfed Toby, most people had no idea.

I expect to go into a restaurant after 9pm and not be subjected to children running around. Well controlled children - perhaps. But I want to be in an adult situation after 9pm. After all - it is MY holiday as well and if Toby is on hols with his father then it is ME time. In August at 10pm I was fed up with children running round past my chair and disturbing my meal on several nights. Label me a bad person, but why SHOULD children have to be up so late? I saw one family waiting for a table at 10pm and the children (who looked about 7-10) were sitting on the step and nearly falling asleep. Gosh, they must have been enjoying themselves.

Sorry for this turning into a rant, and completely off the subject initially put forward. However, I feel very strongly that people on holiday without children should be able to choose whether they want to have their evening disrupted, and this should be able to be done by carefully selecting the time they eat.

I would like families with small children to accept some responsibility for having children, and not act as though everyone should work around them because they have children. It is time for some parents to grow up and remember that other people have needs as well. If your child is crying for more than 3 or 4 minutes, then TAKE HIM OUT OF THE RESTAURANT! Why should restaurant owners feel they have to apologise (which is what happened in August) for the behaviour of children that come into the restaurant.

Can you tell that I feel quite strongly about this!