Don't Criticise Janet Street-Porter For Saying What Everybody's Thinking, Child-Free Spaces Are Sacred

As a 27-year-old, children don't feature very heavily in my life - none of my friendship group have children (they are barely able to look after themselves) and I'm the oldest sibling, so I have no nieces and nephews to speak of.

It's not everyday that I agree with an article in the Daily Mail (read: almost never) but I'm planning on printing hundreds of copies of Janet Street-Porter's latest column and flyering them around Yummy Mummy HQ, AKA north London.

JSP has penned a somewhat divisive article calling for children to be banned from cafes and restaurants - and from the looks of a quick Twitter search, I'm not the only one who enjoyed her rant.

Now, I don't agree that children should be banned outright, but her no nonsense point of view is a welcome change from a sea of deafening child-centric mummy bloggers.

At the moment, it feels like there are a minority of the loudest parents policing the rest of us and telling people like Eileen Potter off, as if she is a child, for making her London tea shop adults-only after her fixtures and fittings were broken.

The truth is it's perfectly reasonable to want to have a child-free evening and it's completely unreasonable to assume your offspring has the right to be everywhere, all the time.

Because guess what: not everyone has or even wants children - particularly, when we are hungover, stressed from work or simply in deep conversation with another adult. And there are plenty of parents who don't want to be surrounded by other people's children if they get a night off.

Usually when I express this point of view, I'm called a child hater. Or when I say I don't want to have children, I'm told I'll soon change my mind.

Don't get me wrong, I love children, but I just don't want them permeating every inch of my life - especially my ear drums during brunch.

As a 27-year-old, children don't feature very heavily in my life - none of my friendship group have children (they are barely able to look after themselves) and I'm the oldest sibling, so I have no nieces and nephews to speak of.

Of course, I know these days are numbered, but I'm cherishing every second. Already my Facebook feed is starting to flood with photos of scans, baby showers and newborns, and I am dreading the day that my friends start to flock like flies around shit-filled nappies in the suburbs and talk about nothing more than feeding patterns and rashes.

But I know this is inevitable, because the vast majority of adults have children and the rest of us are reminded of their decision every single day.

I'm not suggesting that parents stay locked away in their homes or bound to the playground, parents don't cease to be adults just because they decided to procreate, but I do think they should stick to family-friendly places - of which there are plenty.

Mums and dads should realise that not everyone thinks their child is an angel, not everyone has the patience of a saint and sometimes the childless (or those lucky enough to have found a baby sitter for the afternoon) just want to have a sacred child-free lunch or pint.

Close