TuscMoms.com

An MSNBC poll asks this question and more people are saying no than yes.

What do you think?

What counts as fancy?
I'd say absolutely not. But my idea of a fancy restaurant may be different from someone else's.
I think Kozy's (sp.?) is a fancy restaurant. Outback & Olive Garden are not.

I agree with DistractedMom. What is the definition of fancy?

Also - I think it depends on the age and behavior of the children. I know better than to take my crew to some restaurants. There are other children who would do just fine.

Yeah, GG. My eldest has always been the perfect little gentleman and a good restaurant diner. My youngest... well ... lets just say he has too much spirit for those stuffy old fancy restaurants.

I have seen restarurants in other cities that promote themselves as offering "adult dining," sending a clear message to keep the kids away.
I tend to think that if the parents (or grandparents or whoever) are willing to pay for "fancy" food, then they should be able to bring the kids along if they choose to. My kids love Bottega in Birmingham, and once when we went with their grandfather, there was no room on the cafe side and we sat on the "fancy" side. They did fine and had no problems. I think some of the other diners were surprised to see children on that side, but again, I say it's fine unless a particular restaurant has a policy, or if you know your children are particularly ill-behaved!

DH and I try to only take Olivia to family friendly places right now. She can sit through the meal but can't always be quiet and usually throws her sippy cup in the floor a few times. I try to look for restaurants that have a children's menu and an ample supply of highchairs so I know that children are welcome. We also try and eat early to avoid the long waits.
I will say that I find it very annoying when I go to the trouble of finding a babysitter, getting dressed up, making reservations and pay more to dine out at a fancier restaurant and a couple brings a child that isn't mature enough to handle the environment and screams loudly and throws food the entire meal. Like some of you said earlier I think it depends on the child. If they can behave and act appropriately I have no problem with it and think it is a great learning experience for them.

Oh yes, I should qualify my earlier posting - screaming and/or throwing food warrants removing a child from the situation at any restaurant or wherever you are. I'm a firm believer in taking a child out of a situation that he or she can't handle. And I find the 12-18 month old phase a difficult time to eat out with children - take out has always been a better option when my kids were that age!

I agree that it depends on the child and you have to remove a noisy child.
I have two experiences that pop into my mind.

The first is when Jack was pretty small. He was maybe 3 months old. We decided to be brave and take him out to a fancy Italian restaurant. My dad was visiting and we really wanted to go out. Well, Jack started fussing and crying and I wound up leaving the restaurant immediately and taking him to the car. My dad packed up the meals and followed. Oh well.

Then a few months ago we took Jack to Kozy's. He was just 15 months old, I think. And he was wonderful. I noticed people looked at us. And looked at Jack -- warily? I'm not sure. But he was so good that even the owner came up and said so. He just sat there like a little gentleman eating and pointing to the lights and having a good time. We weren't sure how it would turn out but decided to take a shot and I'm glad we did.

I think that if a restaurant advertises as being "adult dining" then people should take the hint. If the restaurant isn't "child friendly" with something to entertain the child or food appropriate for a child then I wouldn't take my child, no hard feelings. It's up to me and DH to choose an appropriate place to dine as a family so that we all have a good time. And if we ever wanted grown-up time then I would hope to find a restaurant that was adult dining so I could relax a short time without my or anyone else's child kwim?