Mom's Talk: Should You Bring A Baby to a Bar?

If you’ve ever seen the romantic comedy “Sweet Home Alabama,” staring Reese Witherspoon, you may remember one of the snarkiest lines in the movie. It’s a scene where Witherspoon’s character runs into an old friend in a bar, with a toddler in tow.

“You have a baby, in a bar,” Witherspoon’s character, who doesn’t have children, remarks, clearly aghast to see a pacifier not far from a shot glass.

Should mom’s be able to take their babies along with them to a night on the town? Should parents be forced to either stay at home or pay for an expensive babysitter?

In a feature story on CNN.com, one parent fills in:

"As a stay-at-home dad, it can be kind of isolating. Bars, as much as they're places to drink, they're places to socialize and meet people," said Matt Gross, 35. "I long for adult contact. ... I don't want to be excluded from the adult world."

Our Mom's Council member, Kathryn Horn Coneway also fills us in:

"I can't say I have brought my kids to a bar but we used to live near a college town and frequently ate at local restaurants that were a good mix of bar/restaurant.  I like exposing my kids to a mix of people and much prefer to take kids along with me on my outings - be it visiting a museum or gallery, browsing at the book store, or meeting a friend for coffee, than to always do kid-focused things." 

What do you think? Have you ever brought your child out?