As a member of a former restaurant owning family, I'd hate to think of the $$ my family would have lost had we not allowed families into our establishment.
Get a babysitter? Easy for you to say when you aren't paying the lease.
You'd probably have alot more patrons if the kiddo's weren't disturbing meals. Sorry.. but I've left restaurants ..as I'm sure many have... when the noise level wasn't compatible to digestion. If you have a burger joint.. that's fine and probably expected.
Look...I love kids....that's my biz.... but people have lost the art of courtesy to others in this regard.
Its all a matter of the child's temperment and parenting.. while when they are very very young, a month or two.. all they do is sleep... taking them to a restraunt is like taking a piece of luggage... They will likely be sleeping through the meal.
When they get to the age where they actually are eating solid food in a high chair, well that is definately where child's temperment and general parenting skills will dictate the experience.
When our child was young we would take him with us to restraunts... and it never failed that we'd get the "eye" by other diners... who obviously expected the screaming uncontrolled brat out of any child they saw. Of many of these diners would come over and openly admit after seeing our childs behavior in the restraunt compliment us and him for being so well behaved.
Now I admit our child is a very happy go lucky type of kid, and we have always been consistent with him in terms of expectations and discipline, so behavior has never really been an issue. I feel for those who have children that are very strong willed... and if I knew going in my child would not behave we definately would not have gone. Of course on the same token had our child knowingly acted up, he would have been taken outside immediately and dealt with... something he has always know.
Consistency counts.