My listing did not have not appropriate for children checked off. For the last few summers. I have accepted the families with young children and babies….I am just hitting a wall with the last few and realize things would have just been easier if I hadn’t accepted them . It would have made no difference to my bookings as I am in a very high demand area in the summer, which is the only time of the year I host. I’m just realizing it all a little late as I’m about to delete my listing. I think the mom who rated me three stars for accuracy for not having a kitchen really did me in even though it’s all clearly spelled out in the listing. I wrote a passive aggressive reply to her review which felt really good. 
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I’m not bothered at all by noise……I am a mom myself . It’s just the constant demands and the mess from young children. I think to myself why in the %$#% did. I ever allow young families? The current guest has a five year old who is still wearing diapers judging from the bags of garbage she is leaving for me to clear every day 
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Of course it’s awful for guests to mark you down on accuracy when your listing made things perfectly clear.
But it seems to me that most families with kids would pretty much need a kitchen, so I’d say your place wasn’t really suited for families to begin with.
If you do get your mojo back and decide to host again, don’t be trying to attract all comers. It seems like the hosts who have the least amount of issues are those who cater to a certain market, furnish their places accordingly, and have settings that facilitate attracting that target market.
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You make valid points. Everyone in this tiny resort town books out early every summer and the rates are high around here, so it’s tough for everyone to find reasonable accommodation, which is why I think families end up booking with me despite (most ) people realizing I don’t have a full kitchen.
Most of my guests are two couples or just one couple.
Lesson learned going forward is to cater to adult couples and small groups and specify not suitable for small children.
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Yes, I can imagine that the worst guests are those who booked a place because they were “stuck” and couldn’t find what they really wanted. They’re likely to already feel disgruntled on arrival.
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When you specify that your location isn’t suitable for small children, it’s a good idea to say why, convincingly. For example, we state that we have big dogs that have no experience around children. We also have a pool that little kids could access. Both are true. Other people have mentioned that they have open staircases or unprotected heights or limitations by their insurance and probably a lot of other reasons.
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I hear you. My condo can easily accommodate 6. I’ve locked off 1br1ba & now have max 2 guests. I am charging less but making more not having to deal with “kids will be kids” damage & mess.
My market is changing. To stay competitive rental-wise, I may need to go to Max 3-4 guests next summer so appealing to parents with children.
I’m not a grouchy old woman who yells at children but these are not my relatives. There are rentals better suited to children and supply games, high chairs, cribs etc. that I don’t & won’t.
I’m thinking 3 guests max might be the ticket—Patent & 2 children or 2 parents 1 child or two adults.
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In the beginning of hosting, I didn’t feel comfortable taking kids in, because of the way the house is built. However, I’m so glad I gave it a go. Our home sleeps 6 and my preferred guests are two couples with or without kids. We have mostly multi-generational family vacation groups and they have been wonderful (knock on wood).
Because of where our house is located, I’ve tried to market to active guests that like to hike, kayak, etc. Setting up expectations about what is around us (as well as what is not) helps in getting my guests out of the house and out on their own where they can have fun and cause less wear and tear on the house.
I’ll take physical kids over “mental kids” ANY DAY. The groups of so called adults that never grew up are the worst. Thankfully, with the way the listing is drafted, we don’t get partiers (another knock on wood).
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I should probably clarify that I’ve had nice families stay and I do everything I can to make their stay a pleasant one, including marshmallows for the fire pit and beach toys. I think overall it’s families with very young children and babies that have burned me out in the end. So many diapers in the trash……and such a mess left behind by thoughtless parents.
If I ever do this again, I think I would make the property unsuitable for young children under say 6 and come up with an excuse as other posters have suggested.
When my daughter was young we travelled everywhere but we always left the place neat and tidy.
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I think it’s more a problem with the parents not being respectful or booking the right property for their needs than the kids TBH. Before the pandemic we loved to take weekend trips with our babe who was under 2 at the time. Left everything as clean (or cleaner) than how we left it and were always quiet as to not disturb him napping lol.
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100%. Neither my home nor anywhere I stayed with my kids was some disaster area. It just might take longer to clean and tidy up. The families with kids who leave a mess behind them would likely leave a mess regardless of whether they had kids or not.
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Would your problem have been solved if Airbnb policy allowed (it doesn’t) you to restrict booking to international guests, and to filter out American guests. (Asking for a friend.)
I don’t allow children anymore. The parents just can’t be trusted to keep an eye on them or ask them to treat my home with respect. I don’t rent an investment property — I share my home. It’s filled with objects I love. My cleaner has been with me for 10 years now and she has always insisted that dogs are easier on my house than children.
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I agree.the few exceptions I made for kids was a mistake. One kid w a walker banged into the walls, I had to repaint.If you can get a Enough business without kids,do it. I only allow two people max, no kids, no pets.it just makes it so much easier to manage.
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If such a screening were allowed then yep!
we hosted 5 families with kids.
All of them had a kid who peed in bed. They were up to 6 y.o. What’s wrong with kids today? Do they pee in bed until puberty?
Almost all families tried to hide it.
We don’t host kids under 10 y.o. anymore but we do host dogs
Yes, I am mother as well
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Scrambled are great done in the microwave, slowly so that they are the right consistency. I’d never go back to using a saucepan and would NEVER cook them in the same pan as hash browns. Incidentally hash browns are excellent done in an airfryer.
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Iron skillet or nothing (for both) 
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I have a toddler, and I absolutely won’t host kids. I know exactly the trouble they can get into and his tired parents are! Not to mention that bringing a small child to a restaurant these days is a horrible idea (covid!) so cooking is 100% necessary.
I’m glad some places accept kids so that we can travel, but my place isn’t set up for them. So far, in my five years of hosting, no one has snuck one in!
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Not funny. So tired of the “it’s ok to lump all Americans into one basket and then dump on them” mentality. We are a big country. There is a huge difference in Americans from Maine, Florida, Kansas, Wisconsin, Texas, Washington DC, Washington State, California etc. In my state there is a cultural difference between the eastern and western cities. American dollars may be the same (and welcomed almost everywhere) but the American people are not. All (or most) of Europe uses the same currency but i’m pretty sure not all Europeans can be lumped into one guest experience. Same as China, mid-east, etc. Tell your friend.
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