Swiss cafés, campsites ban kids: A shift in public spaces

Swiss restaurants and campsites are banning children—here's why

September 11, 2025

Interview

When children make more noise than they bring in revenue, it's only natural that "adults-only" offerings will emerge, says sociologist Katja Rost. Yet she still advocates for more social mixing.

Adults only: Whether in wellness resorts, hotels, or cafés, "adults-only" zones are trending. Demand is rising—even in Switzerland. Recently, a café in Aarau announced that children under 14 are no longer welcome. Now, a campsite in the Bernese Highlands is following suit: Starting in spring 2026, it will become Switzerland's first child-free campsite. So why are child bans suddenly in vogue?

No children allowed at the campsite—isn't that a bit extreme, even by today's standards?

Katja Rost: It's certainly part of the trend. Hard data is scarce, but even we've been annoyed when, on vacation with our 12-year-old son, we were only allowed to use the baby area of a hotel. What's interesting is that, at the same time, more places are explicitly welcoming dogs and other pets. So in a way, society is becoming—again—more tolerant.

One might cynically say: Most pets aren't as loud as toddlers.

Of course. Children run around, scream, make a mess at the buffet. That does disrupt the peace—especially if you don't have kids yourself. For business owners, the math is simple: If children cause more trouble than they bring in profit, it makes sense to relegate them to separate areas or exclude them altogether.

So it's just market logic—after all, there are family-friendly hotels too. What's the issue?

For one thing, segregated family zones aren't always pleasant either. A space like Disney World, where everything revolves around children—helicopter parents included—I'll admit, even I become intolerant in that kind of environment. But this spatial separation also creates social distance.

Meaning?

When everything is tailored to specific groups and we only move within our own bubbles, we lose touch with other ways of life. That erodes understanding for people who live differently—and, ultimately, social cohesion.

That sounds a bit dramatic. People with and without children still interact regularly in daily life.

We're far from total segregation, but you can already sense a drift. In Zurich, I've noticed it's incredibly difficult to eat out "normally" with a child unless you go to the zoo. Everywhere else, you get side-eye—then praised if the kids behave. Because everyone seems to expect the worst.

But that might also reflect how much space children are given in public today. What role do parents play?

Discipline was certainly stricter in the past. When children were out in public, there were clear rules. Today, they have far more freedom to run wild, sometimes with no boundaries at all. But if we're talking about different lifestyles: Generations used to be much more intertwined.

How so?

Three or four generations often lived under the same roof. The dynamics were completely different—there was probably more conflict, but people also had to show more tolerance.

Are you saying the Swiss were more tolerant in the past?

They definitely had to put up with more. Many of today's options simply didn't exist. No one would have thought to ask for a child-free campsite. If you couldn't stand the noise, you just stayed home.

Today, people can create their own spaces. Why shouldn't they?

In itself, there's nothing wrong with seeking out groups and spaces that align with who we are. But community also means, to some degree, swallowing things that don't quite suit us. It's completely unrealistic to expect everything to always go my way. To come to terms with that, it helps if I can at least see how other people live—their realities, their perspectives. I don't have to love them, but I should be able to put myself in their shoes, at least a little.

Is it really inevitable that we'll collectively lose sight of one another entirely?

From a sociological standpoint: yes. The prevailing assumption is that modern, individualized societies will continue to fragment, splintering into ever-smaller niches. Capitalism, after all, doesn't impose any limits on that trend. At the same time, we should also acknowledge that things have often turned out better than science predicted.

So: Is it all just half as bad as it seems?

It's entirely possible that the same people now retreating into these tailored spaces will eventually grow bored. A countertrend could emerge—one where diversity itself becomes a consumable experience, where people actively seek out mixing: a place to spend time with babies, toddlers, teenagers, the young and old, and even pets. After all, humans are nothing if not inventive.