I could be making an assumption here, but I don't think she meant teach them how to drink as much as teaching them that drinking is not all crazy like a lot of Americans think it is. It's perfectly normal in Europe to have wine on the table and allow the kids a small glass (diluted or not) and when I lived there I didn't see kids (high school or younger) getting wasted the way a lot of American kids do. Granted some do, but on the whole it's not as big a deal as it is here.
A lot of this country has yet to really grasp the concept of moderation, in any form.
As for kids in restaurants, like others have said - as long as they behave and the parents follow through on the "threats". Hey I went to some very nice restaurants as a child, and I knew not to act up because my mom would give me "the look" if I thought about acting even slightly wild.
I've seen kids acting like savages at DQ, running around screaming and disturbing other patrons...it's not just limited to the nice places.
