What's NOT sensible is imagining that kids that make noise are bad.
Kids are supposed to make noise.
Actually, a sensible approach actually puts the onus and the responsibility
on the parents to control their children's behavior, and ejects them from the restaurant if they fail to do so. If you have small children, and they make noise (babies, for instance, do), then you have an obligation to select restaurants with a child-friendly (aka: noisy) atmosphere where your children will not disturb other patrons, versus an upscale restaurant with an adult atmosphere.
If you have a baby, I understand your child making noise, because a 9 month old can't be silenced very easily. If you have a 5 year old who runs around the restaurant in circles and screams at the table, you should be ejected from the restaurant. And, if your little darling throws a grand mal temper tantrum on a plane, if there is space available on the plane, you and your offspring should be moved to the back of the plane, away from other passengers.
My children learned, AS TODDLERS, to sit at a table while eating, to keep their voices down in restaurants, and to behave like civilized human beings and not little monkeys. As a result, they've been able to enjoy eating at some very fine restaurants around the U.S., and I've always received compliments on how well-behaved they are, and how much they enjoy trying new things.
My kids started flying when they were infants, and by the time they were toddlers, they were extremely well-behaved on flights. No one enjoys children acting like little monkeys in public places, and no, the rest of us shouldn't have to tolerate it because people lack the will to control their offspring.
How about this one: I'm in the supermarket checkout line. Woman ahead of me with what looks like an autistic seven year old, who's humming to himself while running his chocolate-gooed hands over my groceries. I tell the mom "can you please handle your kid?" Naturally, she gives that clueless parent grimace.
