The Little Kids Table

How many of you had a "little kids table"? Such a table was necessary when the number of children exceeded the number of seats at the main dining table. Of course, high chairs were still allowed at the "big" table out of necessity, but if you could feed yourself, you were assigned to the little kids table.
At the Quinnery there was a constantly revolving number of kids joining or leaving the little kids table...which was a high honor. As the older ones went off to college or elsewhere there was less and less need for the table and eventually it was just a memory.
I loved being at the main table and able to listen in on all of the talk. My father was a Republican and my mother a Democrat so political talk would have been lively...if there had been any..but my mother didn't proffer her opinions. Most of the talk was about school or weekend plans, books, hobbies, etc.
The most important thing one learned at either table was that manners were not just important, they demonstrated who you were. Too bad fewer families feel that way today using conflicting schedules as an excuse for not sitting down together.
Graduating to the big table was as important in our family as an actual school promotion!