I'm the mother of three children, and I will have to disagree that children should never be allowed in upscale restaurants. Sometimes the children behave better than some of the adults!

However, I absolutely concur that a disruptive child is not fair to others. However, the child is not to blame -- it's the parents.

The worst thing you can do, in my opinion, is to say something negative to the parents. That only makes them defensive and more likely to say, "My meal is just as expensive as yours," and other things like that.

Here's a suggestion. Walk up to the parents and NOT in a negative tone at all, but a sincerely helpful one, say, "I'm several tables away, but I hear you're having some difficulties. Is there anything I can do to help?"

First of all, that alerts the parents that the child's behavior is being noticed by others! But also, you aren't pointing nasty fingers at them, which is probably only going to make matters worse. If the parents have any intelligence or tact at all, they'll realize that the child is ruining the dinner of others and perhaps they'll take the child outside or hurry their meal.

Even if nothing comes of it, you can be confident that your behavior did not match that of the child's!

Jennifer