ZenFoodist - You seem to be an exception among parents, being concerned and civil and considerate to others. As a former penguin, I observed that most of the problems are not with infants, but with older children. Frequently, the bigger the kid, the bigger the mess, up until about age 10. As a non-parent, it seems like it's really hard to teach kids good dining manners, because so many parents I've waited on have failed to do so. Somehow, our parents did it! Clifford - Thank you so much for recognizing your child's age-appropriate behavior and choosing to refrain from taking her to restaurants until she can behave appropriately. As for numbing her to the noise: when a restaurant reaches a certain level of business, a person who is in the restaurant frequently can recognize a sound almost like that of a hum. That hum puts more babies to sleep than I can recall. To both of you, it is so refreshing to see the courtesy that comes with recognizing that not everyone appreciates children everywhere. While you might have the means to dine out often, the couple in the corner who has saved up for this once a year splurge to an expensive fine dining restaurant (including babysitting costs) is probably not going to be too appreciative of an outburst from a small child whose parents are as oblivious to him as they are to manners. That said, I do remember a family I waited on whose 5 year old and 8 year old were, literally, perfectly behaved. Little girl had on a ruffly dress with a ribbon in her hair, little boy was dressed in a shirt and tie. I asked the mother how she did it, and she said that the children behaved well because the parents expected them to behave well and set a good example for them. This woman had grown up as the daughter of the dean of a prestigious university, and since her parents had frequent formal dinners, she was expected to attend even though she was a child. I took this as inspiration for when I have my own kids. -Angela