They should bring back pubs with the no women and children policy. Like there were in Dad’s day.

@Adogslife There's nothing wrong with children being in expensive restaurants, either... as long as the adults with them are aware of them and make sure they're not disrupting other patrons' meals.

@HootyTheNightOwl I actually agree 100%; but, what happens when they start to fuss or cry? Will that parent get up and take the child out of the restaurant so the meals of the other patrons aren’t disturbed?

If it’s a $50-$100 dinner for two, I really don’t care. When you get up to the $200-$350 range, I do care. At that level I’m paying for peace and excellent food without the potential din of children that are too young to be responsible for their manners.

@Adogslife That is literally what I meant in my comment. If the child is disturbing the peace of other patrons, then the child should be removed until the situation calms down.

The problem is that you can't teach children that the good manners you taught them at home also apply here if you just want to blanket ban all children because they might disturb other patrons.

Not all parents are ignorant of their children - and your approach would have denied me and my siblings of happy birthday meals and the memories associated with them now that my mother is dead... on the basis that we "might" disturb other patrons. We weren't disruptive to others because we would have been removed if we were.

My mother actually invited her boyfriend's parents to join us on a holiday and they didn't want to join us because she had three children... they were elderly and didn't want the noise and bustle of children. She talked them into giving it a go... fast forward to the end of the holiday - and they didn't want to go home.

@HootyTheNightOwl I wouldn’t disagree. It’s the parents’ job to know their children. If they’ve taught their children to act responsibly, there’d be no reason to exclude them.

Entitlement, however, has changed a lot over the past few decades. I have no recourse if my meal is ruined by the parents of unruly children. It’s unfair to penalize the wait staff or the restaurant for their actions, though I suppose I could get up and leave mid-meal…