The children of today's affluents are no longer craving limited menus of burgers, spaghetti and chicken fingers. Dining out is a way of life. Most kids 8-12 have already dined extensively in fine restaurants and are developing sophisticated palates. And not only are their tastes more sophisticated, but so is their vocabulary: they know when pasta is overcooked vs. al dente. Normally, most restaurateurs are frightened of children. But not in Inn the Park - a smart, elegant London restaurant which had a head start in the child-friendly stakes. The staff are slick and cope effortlessly with high chairs, while dishing out crayons and paper. The menu is both sophisticated for parents and for developing palates.

In Italy, restaurants cater to families; in Spain, family meals go on late into the night; even the French, normally quite formal diners, understand the joy of family meals. Family dining is a prime opportunity for family togetherness in our overscheduled lives, and now often takes place at a restaurant or hotel as well as home. No surprise then, that kids menus in leading hotels and restaurants are slowly disappearing.