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Dekeguy, I agree! My parents used the same approach and it worked.
When I go to a nice restaurant, I expect to have dinner in peace and quiet. That means, nobody yapping on a cell phone at the next table, and no screaming kids or children running around the restaurant.
Having said that, like Dekeguy, I DO believe children should be allowed to eat at nice restaurants with their parents, BUT they must be taught to behave FIRST. Parents should be confident that their child already knows how to act properly in this environment before taking them into a nice eating establishment. This behavior can be taught at home at the dinner table.
I wonder if family restaurants defeat the purpose as so many kids are allowed to misbehave there? I've been to a few with a good friend of mine (who has two young children), and I just can't believe the behavior that some parents tolerate. The kids chase each other around the restaurant, shoot straws at each other, and scream. If this is allowed at a "family restaurant" how does a child understand that it's not acceptable at a "nice" restaurant?
When I was a kid, my parents used to love to eat out alot. We went to some really beautiful restaurants in NYC when I was as young as four years old. I knew the rules, I knew the boundaries, and I knew the consequences if I misbehaved. I wouldn't dare break the rules or I knew I wouldn't be allowed to go out to dinner with them again.
I was not allowed to leave my chair, I was to speak softly, say please and thank you. The rules didn't bother me, because I loved getting to spend a night out on the town with mom and dad. It was a treat. I got to get all dressed up, eat grown up food and have a grown up drink (well, I thought it was.. it was a virgin cocktail). Some of my most cherished memories are these nights out on the town with mom and dad in NYC.
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