You can always book rooms for non-elites that include the club/lounge access, if you have members of your party who do not have status. That way, you can access by virtue of status, and others can access based on having booked a club-level room.

In the case of young children, some properties specifically prohibit young children (under 12) after 7pm or whenever the free-flowing alcohol is offered, and they want the lounge to have more of a "post-office, happy hour" feel at that time of day.