yeah, it's not ideal but it's better than the alternative at least. my best memories with my dad were all at the bar with him, not when he was at the bar and i was somewhere else.
I remember my mom being super pissed because my grandparents came to town for a week or so, and they took me "out" one day...out meaning to a bar. But I didn't care! I had shirley temples and played pool and had a great time with them anyway. I used to live with my great-grandma when I was 4-5, and we'd go to the VFW 2-3 times a week. Being with her was the best part of my childhood and I wouldn't trade it for anything.
My boyfriend lived in a rural town in Iowa for a little while amd said it's very common to see little kids running around bars there It makes me think of that scene in Sweet Home Alabama when Reese Witherspoon's character runs into her old friend and her friend's new baby in a bar - " Oh! You had a baby!....in a bar..."