I don't really even notice it. I've never seen a child in a REAL upscale restaurant.

Originally Posted by 98DaysOfSummer:
I just don't really see that many kids in fine dining restaurants, but I do see plenty of kids who don't behave well in more family-oriented places. Just because I can buy a hamburger here, that does not mean I want to hear kids yell and cry or that the rest of us are a baby sitting service for the people who let their kids run around.

We go out to eat with our five year old fairly often, but I don't think she's every been some place really REALLY nice. I am saving that kind of thing for date night. She does know how to behave, and she would be fine in that kind of place (if a little bored) but I don't see the point in spending several hundred dollars on a meal to feed a kid.

Ditto! My kid would eat many other cheaper things over a $50 meal from a nice restaurant. I never see kids out at fancy spots, or if I have, I never noticed.

I definitely do see poorly parented children at family restaurants. I was just out with my friend, her 10 and 11 year old daughters and my barely four year old daughter and our three girls all sat nicely and ate their meals on the outside patio of a specialty burger restaurant.

Meanwhile, one woman near us had her two daughters running around outside on the patio area, one sitting at the bench right outside of the restaurant door, and then the waitstaff even came to talk to mom outside because her kids went into the restaurant alone.

The daughters CONTINUED to run around while this mother just sat and ignored them. I couldn't get over how disruptive these kids were and how complacent the mother looked. :mad:

I don't think that families going out to eat with kids should be limited to McDonald's. If there is a kids menu at a restaurant, then I feel like people are on notice that they may be kids there. I certainly expect my child to behave appropriately but anyone who is put off the mere fact that kids are in a restaurant is the one with the problem IMO. But if it's a fancy enough place that there are no kids menus, then I take that as a sign that it's not meant for children.

I'm 57 and Angie and I go out almost every week at least once for date night. I will admit we usually go to locally owned places and not chain restaurants but we do go to those also.

I really can't think of anytime that a child ruined my dinner except for one...

She was the 5 daughter of a woman I was dating after my divorce. I really liked thelittle girl but she was a pain in the butt/out of control...when seeking attention. She embarrassed me a couple of times when we took her out with us...to family style places...my kids, who were a few years older were embarrassed!

The mother would bring in a truck load of toys for her to play with....and expect her to be good. She would run all over the restaraunt....go up to tables of customers...my daughter took her to the potty and came out MAD as he$$...she said the little girls was crawling under the stalls!

The kid was a kid.....with absolutely zero discipline! Mom was a cutie but the way she handled her child was a deal breaker for me!

My son (8) has gone to a fine dining restaurant several times. We sit near a window so he has something to look at without disturbing others. He knows how to be quiet and well-behaved while at the table for the most part, and I do let him play games on my (muted) smartphone between courses or when he's finished eating. That said, I have never seen another child in there, and there is nothing on the menu he likes (they make him some pasta with marinara sauce). I tip well to make up for the special requests and everyone is happy.

I am not ok with kids running around at anyplace nicer than McDonalds. Stay in your seat! If a kid is crying, or misbehaving and disturbing people, take them outside.

Originally Posted by April Snow:
I don't think that families going out to eat with kids should be limited to McDonald's. If there is a kids menu at a restaurant, then I feel like people are on notice that they may be kids there. I certainly expect my child to behave appropriately but anyone who is put off the mere fact that kids are in a restaurant is the one with the problem IMO. But if it's a fancy enough place that there are no kids menus, then I take that as a sign that it's not meant for children.

Yeah, that. Especially the bolded part. We're all trying to get healthy, right? Expecting us to stick with McDonald's when we have kids isn't really setting them a good example. I have a son with suspected ADHD (haven't gotten an official diagnosis yet) and although he sits at the table with us and knows better than to run off, he is loud. He has trouble regulating the volume of his voice. Mostly it's because he loves to sing at the top of his lungs. But if you're at a restaurant with a kids menu, you have to expect loud children. I try my best to keep him from singing, but we have trouble with that at home, too. Should I be expected to never leave my house because my son loves to sing and forgets that he's not supposed to do it so loud?

I think it's really silly to expect that children be excluded from expensive restaurants. They need to learn how to behave in certain situations and sometimes the best way to teach them how is to actually take them to places.

That said children who can't behave themselves shouldn't be taken to nice restaurants.

Let me tell you all a story. I have this daughter who had the most extreme separation anxiety and I couldn't leave her with anyone! I know some moms just dump them off and let them scream and feel abandoned and figure they'll get over it, but I would not enjoy myself, or do that to begin with. So after not having a date alone with my husband for a really long time (since we got married), our anniversary came around. I tried to get her to stay in a church nursery, with my best friend, my sister-in-law (weeks ahead of time) and it was not happening. She was 9 months old back then by the way, nursing, and refused bottles from birth. Well, we decided we were going out for our anniversary anyway and took her along. We got all dressed up and went out to dinner somewhere nice that cost us an arm and a leg, and of course she made baby noises the whole time and people gave us ugly looks the whole time which made me very uncomfortable and kind of ruined the night for me. I understand that it's annoying, but it is what it is. I agree people letting their kids run all over and be atrocious should not be in nice restaurants though. There are fancy places that don't allow people under a certain age... perhaps try those out?