Should children be banned from restaurants?

One in five restaurant goers would support a full ban on young children in restaurants, according to new research from GoCompare*.

The comparison site, which rewards customers who switch with a DINE membership that provides discounts at thousands of restaurants across the country, found that children were the biggest source of frustration for UK diners when they eat out, with nearly three quarters (72%) saying they believed in some form of restriction for youngsters in restaurants.

The research comes as eight out of 10 people claim that a disruptive child has ruined their dining experience, with a third saying a noisy minor had spoiled a dinner date for them.

While 20% said they would support a full ban on all young children, most people, though still supporting restrictions, were less extreme.

For instance, just over half (56%) of those surveyed said they believed restaurants should have specific adult-only days, where children would not be welcome. Likewise, the majority (63%) of people said they would support early evening curfews to keep eateries child-free.

However, while disruptive children are clearly a blood boiler for many, it was parents that drew the most ire. The research found that the clear majority (72%) of people felt that parents of loud or disruptive young children should be kicked out of a restaurant by staff if they were unable to keep them quiet.

Georgie Frost, consumer advocate at GoCompare said: “Our study found that children in restaurants is clearly a polarising subject, and a key source frustration for the majority of diners.

"There is sympathy to be had on both sides. Why shouldn't families get to enjoy a meal out together when and where they want? Equally though, why shouldn't those without children be able to eat out at a restaurant that doesn't feel like a creche? 

"Indeed, over 80% of those asked by GoCompare say that they have had their whole dining experience ruined because of disruptive children while a third say it had spoiled a date."

Whether you're dining solo or with the family, you could save money at across thousands of UK restaurants this summer with GoCompare and DINE, by switching a qualifying product through GoCompare.

For more information on how to save at thousands of restaurants nationwide with GoCompare, including Café Rouge, Bella Italia and La Tasca, visit; https://www.gocompare.com/dine-membership/

-ends-

For further information please contact:

Anders Nilsson/Martyn John/Louisa Marsden at GoCompare on 01633 654 054 / 01633 654 725 / 01633 655132

Gordon, Jason or Liz at MAW Communications on 01603 505 845

Keep up-to-date with GoCompare on Twitter; @GoCompare

Notes to editors

*On the 28 June 2018, Bilendi conducted an online survey among 2,001 randomly selected British adults who are Maximiles UK panellists and homeowners.  The margin of error-which measures sampling variability-is +/- 2.2%. The results have been statistically weighted according to the most current education, age, gender and regional data to ensure samples representative of the entire adult population of United Kingdom. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.

About GoCompare

GoCompare is a comparison website that enables people to compare the costs and features of a wide variety of insurance policies, financial products and energy tariffs.

GoCompare does not charge people to use its services, and it does not accept advertising or sponsored listings, so all product comparisons are unbiased. Gocompare makes its money through fees paid by the providers of products that appear on its various comparison services when a customer buys through the site.

GoCompare does not sell its customers’ data.

When it launched in 2006, it was the first comparison site to focus on displaying policy details rather than just listing prices, with the aim of helping people to make better-informed decisions when buying their insurance. GoCompare has remained dedicated to helping people choose the most appropriate products rather than just the cheapest, and has teamed up with Defaqto, the independent financial researcher, to integrate additional policy information into a number of its insurance comparison services. This allows people to compare up to an extra 30 features of cover.

GoCompare is the only comparison website to be invited to join the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA) and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

For more information visit www.gocompare.com and www.gocomparegroup.com