A cafe in Da Nang refuses entry to customers under 12 years old, sparking a heated online debate.

A fierce online battle of conflicting opinions.

The DHC cafe in Da Nang took a rather risky step by announcing: "Because the cafe does not have a separate play area for children. Because we are afraid that the noise and crying of children will disturb our customers who come to relax and chat. Because we do not have the skills to soothe or babysit children for parents. Therefore, from today onwards, we will be refusing entry to customers bringing children under 12 years old."

After the post was published on Facebook, it received nearly 18,000 comments and almost 5,000 shares, quickly gaining attention from the online community. Some comments supported the restaurant, but there were also many harsh opinions, and moreover, many people felt that the wording of the announcement could easily offend readers, especially families with young children or simply customers who disagreed with the viewpoint.

Specifically, the VBKG account shared:"I hadn't even gotten to the cafe yet and I already saw this notice. I might as well boycott the place already. My child is only 2 years old, but he doesn't usually scream when he goes to a cafe, so why make such a big deal out of it? Instead of writing like this, it would be better to say that parents should keep an eye on their children when they go out to cafes to avoid disturbing other customers."

Ms. T also expressed her frustration and commented on the restaurant's announcement post:"What about children under 12? They're just a copy of their parents. This article is biased and disrespectful towards children. Many adults probably don't even have the same level of awareness as a three-year-old, yet they dare to refuse customers under 12. The restaurant shouldn't be so presumptuous. Don't even bother checking if the restaurant is closed before making such arrogant remarks..."

Alongside the strong criticism, there were also some neutral comments supporting the restaurant.

TNQD stated:"I'll come support the restaurant this Saturday. Knowing what you like and what you don't like, and boldly refusing requests is already a valuable act of courage, rather than being greedy and wanting to serve every customer..."

"Bringing your children along is fine, but please keep an eye on them. It's unfair to other customers when they're relaxing at a cafe and the kids at the next table are yelling in their ears, while the parents completely ignore them."LT said.

"The cafe could adjust its wording to be a little more polite. And it would be better if they only banned children under 10. This cafe is meant to be a relaxing, chill space, and bringing in noisy or disruptive children is unfair to the owner. Sometimes, when I sit here and see little kids carelessly pulling up the cafe's plants, it makes me feel upset on their behalf."LM added.

Previously, in April 2022, DHC Cafe also posted a message in a rather gentle tone, sharing about instances where young customers had been noisy or disruptive to adults while drinking coffee. Therefore, the cafe requested that parents consider this when bringing young children, and warned that if noise was caused, the cafe might stop serving that table.

Anticipating public opinion

Following a barrage of comments from many customers, the establishment shared on Facebook that when it decided to stop accepting customers under 12 years old, it had anticipated the backlash and the divided public opinion. This is also the second time the restaurant has issued a notice regarding customer age restrictions.

The request, when made, was simply to emphasize the business purpose: to serve customers who come to the cafe to relax, study, and work in a comfortable and quiet environment. In addition, there are many other purposes such as: taking photos, painting, reading books, etc.

However, after a long period of operation, this cafe shared that it has encountered many awkward situations affecting customers sitting in the cafe's space, such as children accompanied by their parents chasing each other, shouting loudly, trampling on many plants in the cafe, and sometimes even throwing stones at each other (which has hit customers), which is very dangerous... When such incidents occur, the cafe tries to advise the parents, but the response is often indifferent from some parents regarding guiding their children to behave appropriately in public places.

To be tactful, the cafe also posted a notice in April reminding parents to keep an eye on their children and emphasizing that there was no play area for children, so they should consider this. However, this seemed to be unfortunately ignored. Almost all other customers who encountered children running around and shouting like that simply shook their heads and left, leaving the cafe feeling very uncomfortable with the situation.

When implementing such a rule, the cafe anticipated that it would displease many customers, but the goal of DHC Cafe is to create a space for relaxation, work, reading, and conversation.

The cafe's statement was ultimately not intended to criticize children. Since the young customers are too young to understand right from wrong, the important message the cafe wanted to convey was about parental guidance in raising children. The cafe also hoped that parents could teach their children how to behave appropriately in public places like this.

After posting a notice stating they would not accept children under 12, which became a social media sensation, the owner's decisive decision to not serve young customers became even clearer. The fact that DHC still attracts a large number of customers demonstrates that the "crowd effect" on social media is also a significant factor.

Bringing children to cafes, causing inconvenience and disruption to other customers, has long been a controversial topic, one that remains unresolved. Many people have raised this issue, but it hasn't received much attention from the F&B (Food and Beverage Service) industry, simply because they fear losing a large customer base. Therefore, each cafe handles the situation differently. DHC Cafe's bold decision, while seemingly risky amidst the whirlwind of social media public opinion, is a bold move.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao