1. Skip to navigation
  2. Skip to content
  3. Skip to sidebar

Topics:

Party of four

How to dine out with your kids so everyone has a good time

By
//
Originally published in Today's Parent January 2007

Remember when going to a restaurant meant lingering at a quiet corner table with your sweetie, playfully debating who should get the last morsel of crème brûlée? Nowadays, it seems the only thing lingering is your car at the pickup window, while your two-year-old howls for the blue toy instead of the red one.

If you’ve been avoiding real restaurants because your last foray as a family served up a trying combination of waiting, whining and withering looks, you’re also passing up a great break: You don’t have to shop, cook or scrub dishes, each kid gets to eat what she wants, and everyone can actually sit down together at the same time. So park the car and grab a booth by the window (the view keeps kids occupied). Here’s how to enjoy eating out, no matter how young your dining companions are.

Toddlers have an attention span of about twice their age in minutes, so short outings with lots of diversions are best. “Once babies become mobile, they want to experience every part of the world,” says Don Giesbrecht, director of the Assiniboine Children’s Centre in Winnipeg. Plan for your child’s need to explore and prepare to interact with him — everyone’s meal will go down easier.

Survival Tips

Dine where they like families. Telltale signs of a welcoming restaurant include a children’s menu, high chairs with straps (so toddlers can’t try a radical descent) and, well, other families. You won’t likely face an audience of scowls when Jane fusses for a feeding, and staff will think it’s cute when Dick pleads for “girled cheese.” Dining at a kid-friendly place shows good manners on your part too, since the choice respects other patrons, according to Paula Wilhelm, of In Good Company, who teaches etiquette to kids and adults in Toronto and Burlington, Ont.

Keep them busy. Nancy Regan, a Mississauga, Ont., mom, leads off with a “restaurant orientation tour” for Korly, nearly two, and Nate, nine months, to kill some time while husband Joe orders dinner for everyone. She also keeps a container of toys specifically for restaurants and airplanes, pulling out one toy at a time rather than offering everything at once. Aim for speed. Toddlers aren’t known for their patience, so waiting can be a challenge. Cathy Byers of Calgary goes before the dinner rush to the spots she knows well, so she can order upon being seated with two-year-old Ridley. Another trick: Start with your child on your lap during the wait, or he may be ready to ditch his high chair just as the food arrives. It also helps speed the meal to ask for dessert when the server comes to check on your entrees, and request the bill as dessert lands.

While kids in this age range have a greater capacity to sit, they can’t endure a two-hour soiree. Booths allow children to move around with minimal disruption. “We know it’s not polite to point or stare, but this age is still learning about social expectations,” Giesbrecht says.

Subscribe to Today's Parent for just $14.95* That's only $1.25 an issue!

May We Also Suggest...

What do you think?