Children love to use meal times, bath times, and bed times to assert themsevles, and they soon learn that bad behaviour in public can last a lot longer than it does at home. You need first of all to ensure that your children know how to sit at the table and eat properly at home. Meal times are when they will try getting up from the table, leaving food and so on. You need to be firm and ensure that punishments occur if they are naughty - the simplest is simply to take their food away. I know it sounds cruel, but no child wil starve by missing one meal, and if you stick to your guns, you'll only have to do it a couple of times. Then, transfer the same rules to eating out, with a quiet but firm reminder on the way in about the rules of table manners. Any nonsense, and one of you takes them out, and they don't eat - again it will only take a couple of times for them to get the message. You just be firm, and united, or they will play you off against each other. Be firm, stand your ground, and make sure your rules stick, or they will learn that bad behaviour is a good game, and it's all downhill from there. A few tears now, and a missed meal or two, wil pay dividends later on. Your childrens' manners will be used to judge them as individuals when you are out - wrong, but a fact. Make sure they know how to behave properly, and you will be setting on the road to being responsible adults. Be firm!