GIVEAWAY: $1000 Target Gift Card + Go & Gro Mix-ins
Yesterday, I posted “12 Problems Dining Out with Kids” on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page and asked parents who felt like they had mastered the art of family dining (no, not the kind where they put a large plate of pasta on your table for everyone to share) to comment with their best tips and tricks.
I culled through all the responses and put together a master list, which includes some tips of my own. Some are obvious, some are more inspired. Some I practice regularly and some I clearly need to try.
28 tips & tricks for dining out with kids
1) Practice playing restaurant at home. Tell your kids what kind of behavior is expected when you eat out, like proper table manners and staying seated.
2) Always check menus online first to make sure they serve food your kids will want to eat. There is nothing worse than sitting down at a table and discovering there is no chicken fingers available.
3) Keep a mini tackle box or special bag on hand with crayons, small toys or dollar store items that your kid is only allowed to play with in a restaurant. This way he is excited to pull them out. You can even switch them up and surprise him with something new.
4) Eat out early in the evening when there are less people and more families who are sympathetic to your strife. Or, they’ve got their own kids to deal with and couldn’t be bothered paying attention to yours.
5) Opt for large busy restaurants where the noise decibel level is higher and more likely to drown out your rowdy kids.
6) Go to a buffet if possible. Kids think it’s exciting to pick their own food. You can even sneak some new foods for them to try without wasting your money on an entire entree they probably won’t eat.
7) Get a booth if it’s an available. This way your kid can move around more without disturbing other people. You can also put them on the inside and trap them in their seat.
8) Buy triangle crayons— they don’t roll off the table!
9) Make sure each child has the EXACT SAME SET of crayons; you don’t want one kid sobbing because his brother is the sole owner of the only purple crayon.
10) Use the stuff on the table to create games, like sorting sugar packets by color or jelly packets by size. We also play a game where everybody closes their eyes except one person who takes an item off the table and hides it in their lap. First person to guess the missing item wins.
11) When kids get older, games like tic tac toe, hangman and dots can be wonderfully distracting while waiting for a meal to be served.
12) I always carry a pair of dice for impromptu restaurant games. You can make up a game while you are waiting for you food and they can be used as an eating game to get your kid to take more bites.
13) Bring your own cups until your kids are responsible with the covered cups at the restaurant. Or they make universal sippy cup lids that can stretch over any standard cup or glass.
14) Bring your own portable placemat. For babies and toddlers, they make silicone mats that have an edge to keep food in place plus a lip to catch the food that falls. For older kids, reusable coloring placemats can be a lot more fun than whatever is supplied at the restaurant.
15) Often bad behavior in a restaurant is a result of the very challenging hunger/impatience combination. Pack a few healthy snacks so your kid has something to munch on before the food arrives.
16) Treat dinner out like a ticking time bomb. Ask for the bread and water as soon as you are seated and ask for the check as soon as the food comes. Then eat fast and get out!
17) Always ask servers if there are any ingredients in the dishes that aren’t listed on the menu. I can’t tell you how many times I have been burned by parmesan cheese.
18) Ask for your kids’ meals to be served as soon as they are ready. In addition to staving off a hunger tantrum, you can cut their food before yours has even arrived and then eat your meal hot.
19) If their food arrives early enough and they finish before you start, that’s a perfect time to buy them dessert. Nothing is better than eating your entree in peace while your kid is consumed with his ice cream.
20) I’ve also been known on occasion to feed my kids at home and then take them out to a restaurant afterwards. Mike and I order entrees and order desserts for the kids to eat at the same time.
21) Ask for an extra plate to cool hot food on— a few strands of spaghetti will always cool faster than a whole plate!
22) If your kid is refusing to eat the protein and the vegetables and sticking purely to bread and rice, use Go & Grow Mix-ins to supplement the nutrients missing from their meal.
23) Never force vegetables at a restaurant. That’s a battle you should save for home when nobody can hear the screaming.
24) For the love of god, if your child acts up, take them outside! Better yet, be willing to pay and walk out even if it means taking the entire meal to go. Making your kids get up and leave in the middle of the meal for bad behavior is a great lesson that will likely be remembered.
25) Arrange with your spouse ahead of time to split responsibilities. If your spouse eats leisurely while you tend to the kids during the meal, then it is his/her job to take the kids outside or for a walk so you can eat in peace after they are done.
26) Don’t worry about what strangers think. Unless they are being actively attacked by your kid with a fork.
27) Always leave a healthy tip for the server. The bigger the mess on the floor, the bigger the tip. It’s the right thing to do plus, they won’t be so annoyed the next time a family walks in the door.
28) The biggest family dining trick of all? Don’t bring the kids!
Hope this helps everyone including me!
GIVEAWAY: $1000 Target Gift Card Plus Go & Grow Mix-ins
Today, I am giving away one $1000 Target gift card plus a supply of Go & Grow Mix-ins from Similac!
Go & Grow is a powder that comes in small to-go packets that are perfect for dining out with kids. They can be stirred into foods like rice, pasta, mashed potatoes, oatmeal, applesauce and pancake batter to give an extra boost of protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and DHA without your kids noticing a difference. They are GMO and gluten-free.
Check out Similac.com/toddlermoms for free samples (while supplies last), store locators and more information about how Mix-Ins help your child maintain balanced nutrition.
To enter:
1) You must be a Mommy Shorts subscriber. If you are not one already, you can become one by clicking here.
2) Leave a comment below telling me a tip, trick or funny story about dining out with your kids. It could be a success or a failure. For instance, here’s an awesome story posted by a mom named Jen on Facebook:
We were running late from an outing and needed to stop to eat. My kids begged to go to Olive Garden but I was reluctant because they hadn’t been so well-behaved the last time we were there. We had a conversation about what constitutes good behavior; sitting still, being quiet, etc. and I told them we could only go in if they promised to behave. They promised. The hostess saw us (one mommy and three little kids) and tucked us into a corner table. The table across from us had 6-8 thirty-somethings who were drinking and kind of loud. We were there less than 10 minutes when my 5 year-old looked over and shouted, “EXCUSE ME? COULD YOU BE QUIET PLEASE? WE’RE IN A REST-AU-RANT.”
Winner will be selected at random and announced on June 22nd.
Good luck!
winner update:
Congrats to Arielle, who’s daughter is still holding a grudge about the time she cut her bagel in half. Please contact annie@mommyshorts.com to claim your prize!
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This post was sponsored by Go & Grow Mix-ins from Similac, but all thoughts and opinions are my own.
My daughter is 2 years old. At home, when she is done eating she picks up and hands us her plate and says “all done, take it”.
We were at our friend’s restaurant last night and he was at our table talking to us when our daughter decided she was done eating. She interrupted him and put her plate in his hands and said “all done, take it”. He laughed and said okay hold on. She didn’t like that he didn’t take the plate away right away, so she said “Scuse me, take it now.”
We were horrified at her behavior and kept apologizing. Thankfully he thought it was funny.
My kids will always eat whatever is on my plate regardless of what they ordered. We just stay home!
Definitely do not go to a sit-down service restaurant if the children have not napped or are overdue for a feeding ☺. My kids like to do their own ordering, so fo us, threatening to order for them -especially things they don’t like- is a great way to ensure good-ish behavior.
When we go out to eat with our baby and toddler, we bring an extra adult sized belt. Many times high chairs in restaurant will have straps that do not work. We use the belt to help keep the child safely in the high chair.
Actually had a pleasant experience with my son and my sister. My son waited patiently but anxious at the same time. The waitress could tell he wanted his food and she came over and talked to him and said “Would you like some crackers?” He totally said Yes! He’s 3 1/2 so he got the Chicken Fingers meal, came with ice cream and all. He even though the deer head on the wall was going to steal his ice cream! ??
We eat out a lot and shockingly, 20 months into parenthood, we have no crazy stories to tell. Our tricks are to always have snacks on hand and to go in with low expectations of food consumption. If she actually eats real food, awesome, if all she eats are snacks and bread, at least she ate something and we can feed her healthy at home for the rest of the week.
I did the sorting jelly packs game once. Until I looked up and every packet was opened and being squeezed onto the floor. We don’t play that game anymore….
One time when our other tricks had failed, we entertained our toddlers by raising one finger on a hand as a “head” and scuttling it forward on the other four “legs”. The “bugs” were a big hit and he patted ourselves on the back for a toy we would always have on hand (yes, pun intended). It was great, and useful, but it got really old after 4 years, and well, you can’t ever NOT have them available…
My daughter had “colic” (which actually turned out to be a food allergy), and cried non-stop. I was determined not to stay locked up at home. I spent many meals wearing her while standing and rocking back and forth and eating all at the same time. I would always ask for a table in a corner or out of the way. When I was lucky I could get her to fall asleep and then I would actually sit down and eat. ?
I’m a big believer in bringing kids to nice restaurants early in their lives. Teaching them how to behave and absolutely taking them outside if they aren’t!
I decided to take both my son 8yrs old and step daughter 7 years old out by myself to eat as a surprise for them. Im responding to a text from daddy and want paying enough attention to either child. Upon looking up both kids had half a grilled cheese sticking out their mouths. It was silly and cute. My tip is to not take it to seriously. Kids will be kids. Interact with them, enjoy your time, and hey if it’s silly for then than why not. I taught them the French fry walrus mouth that night. We made noise,laughed, and I didn’t look at my phone after that.
I don’t have a specific story, but I love the looks we get from childless friends when we suggest meeting for dinner at 5:15. Also the nods of understanding from those with toddlers (who are the only other people in a restaurant at 5:15).
My only tip is to eat at a place where your kid is equally as excited about the food, it makes all the difference!
Bring grandparents, especially if you have more than two kids and are outnumbered. The proper ratio is about one and a half adults per child. And, grandparents usually don’t mind foregoing hot food for grandchild time.
When we go out to eat we are always prepared to share. It doesn’t matter if we have 3 identical plates, our son will always ask for our food.
Also, if your child likes to chew on ice don’t be embarrassed to ask for lids for all cups. We have had many dinners go downhill when a toddler stuck his hand right in our cups and subsequently spilled them.
There are too many to just choose one. From major diaper blowouts when he was a baby, to being served burning hot barbecue sauce with his nuggets, with no warning from the waiter, to major meltdowns. We’ve seen it all. I agree with all of your tips. We always try to plan our timing around his timing & generally order his food first so it comes out first, and has time to cool before ours. Plus toys and extra crayons in the purse are a must!
We went to Papa Gino’s for post-ballet class dinner. 4 wanted to play the games and we had run out of quarters. It was an epic glare-down as she slowly and deliberately elbowed her cup full of ice water off the table and onto the floor. Like a well trained SEALS team, without speaking, I scooped 4 and 1 straight to the car and my husband mopped up the mess with 1 bazillion thin paper napkins. With them buckled in the car, we definitely took an extra minute or two to stifle our “is this real life” laughter outside the car.
While she was younger, we just never asked our daughter (almost 4 now) what kind of food she wanted to have. We didn’t want her to gravitate to the “kid” menu or to just eating grilled cheese or whatever. We would give her choices from the menu, but always different, to keep her trying new things/flavours/tastes. Now she is a terrific eater–we can go anywhere from Indian to Sushi to Ethiopian to Middle Eastern and beyond and she is happy to eat (if she’s hungry and not tired, of course. She IS still 3 after all). Not sure if she would’ve been like this regardless, but I think this and only making one meal at home for all of us to eat (and her being super involved in meal prep) has played an influence!
No great stories because we don’t eat out a ton with our two young girls. It’s usually a huge hassle as we’re trying to cut up food, make sure things aren’t too hot, and make sure most of the food stays on the table. Once we finally get a chance to eat, we have about 5 minutes to inhale our food before they are ready to go. The best was recently when (after requesting the kids’ meals be brought out first), our meal was brought out at least 30 minutes before their food arrived (and this was after constantly asking when it would be out).
My daughter was almost three and at that curious stage when you learn about your body and differences between girls and boys (anatomy wise). We watched my baby nephew that day and shehad loads of questions after watching me change him. She picked it up right away. Momma, girl, vagina… Dadda, boy, penis etc. We go out to eat that night (duh, should have known better). Of course we get the poor sweet lady with a very short haircut to sit us, she is in her uniform with khakis and plain black polo. “Mom??… Penis? Or, Vagina?” (while pointing at this poor woman). She was very sweet and just said “vagina!” I was mortified.
Go out and do it often, even if it is just fast food. Let them get used to the environment and what is expected of their behavior, even if they misbehave tell them we will try again. Bring some type of toys to keep them occupied, we always bring one car for each of the boys and our daughter always brough paper and crayons. Gentle reminders when they weren’t doing what is correct. We always looked at every dining experience as a learning one outside of the house, there are bound to be missteps and spills, burps and farts, yelling or crying, however there are always parents who understand and people who haven’t had kids or never took the time to take their kids out. We are all the parents who rock when we do, it doesn’t matter if it was a success or a failure in your eyes or anyone else’s…it was a moment to learn something new and experience something different! Keep doing it moms and dads, we are all in your corner when your LO starts crying that his fries are too wide, or his noodles are too white. We have your back!
Pay the $2 to get the electronic table games some places offer. Pay for two of you have two kids. They are sanity savers!
To pass the time until the food comes we play a game with doodles on a piece of paper. One person makes a doodle and the other person has to make the doodle into a picture of something. It’s interesting and everybody stays calm and happy till food shows.
It’s is for breakfast or brunch they’re still fresh and it’s a lot more enjoyable!
My son lost his 2nd tooth in a sushi restaurant. We took his picture and then he promptly lost the tooth. We ripped apart the booth and never found it. I ended up having to “email” the tooth fairy the picture so she’d still leave money.
With a 10 year old and a two year old, there are a lot of stories, good and bad to share. But I think one of my favorites has to be the most recent time we went out. Our two year old was adamant that she was cold and refused to leave the house without her warm jacket on.
Mind you, this is Nebraska in June and it’s about 80 degrees outside.
But with toddlers you do what you have to in order to keep the peace, so we off we went, with her in her little Frozen dress, summer shoes, and winter coat. When we got to Applebee’s she found a pair of mittens in the diaper bag and insisted on wearing those as well. Oh, I forgot to mention she also had a tiara on the entire time.
She sat in that booth and ate her mac and cheese like a perfect little princess though.
I found a book of pre-printed activity placemats that my kids love to take to restaurants. The little activity sheets on kids meals at most places are pretty lame or are too advanced for younger kids. I just bring the book along and we have a steady stream of coloring fun!
We like to order a fast appetizer for all of us to enjoy. So far, we’ve avoided ordering off the kids menu. As long as there is food he likes to eat at each course, we all share, and the number of courses bringing new things keeps him interested.
Duct tape…or a lot of patience.
Order the child’s meal first, give them a snack before you head to the restaurant, have something to entertain them (crayons, book, tablet), and have no fear.
I always try to keep small packets of crayons and coloring books in my diaper bag so my boys can color at restaurants. Our smartphones are also great to have so they can play games or watch videos.
The worst restaurant visit want due to manners, but because I fell. My 2.5 year old daughter accidentally stepped in front of me and down I went. I was holding my 6 month old son at the time and he hit the concrete with his nose and cheek.
So I’m holding a crying baby, trying to decide if we need to leave and go to the ER or if he is ok. I’d already ordered food for lunch. The owner brought us or food after a few minutes while I’m still trying to calm him down. There want anyone else in the restaurant at this point, so I didn’t feel like I had to leave immediately. My daughter sat there eating her quesadillawith her brother crying his head off. I finally decided to leave after a few minutes. Got everything boxed up and we headed to the ER. My son was perfectly fine as soon as we got to the ER! Haven’t been back to that restaurant yet.
My biggest tip is to make sure the kids are well-rested when you go out. If my kids had a bad night or didn’t nap we would go another time because that is asking for trouble.
We make sure our son’s kindle is fully charged before we go out to eat. He’s an extremely picky eater and very sensitive to smells. He lets us eat our food in peace now. We don’t go out to eat often as a family, but the kids version of the Kindle is a lifesaver!
We have a 6 month old son. So far our best tip/trick has been the portable high chair that hooks onto the table. We get a booth, put him on the inside next to one of us, and then let him have at it with a handful of small toys. He’s got 8 teeth, so we are letting him experiment with our food, too. I always bring a back-up baba in my bag, even if it’s not meal time, just in case of a meltdown. His favorite thing to do so far is ‘drum’ on the table.
I love the disposable placemats you can stick on the table. Bring washable markers and let the kids draw on them.
Take the kids to use the restroom before the food arrives. Because for some bizarre reason they always want to go when you’re about to eat 🙂
We made it through the toddler years without much incident, only to be rewarded with a daughter who threw up almost every time we went out, through most of grade school. Needless to say we got very familiar with restaurant bathrooms. Her sister was her own brand of challenge… almost every time we went out at night, she would fall asleep before her food came. We have a great picture of her at our local Chili’s… sitting in the booth, head back, mouth wide open, cheeseburger lifted almost to her mouth… sound asleep. Now that they are 11 and 14, if they could just find a way to stop fighting and not order the most expensive thing on the menu, we’d be golden.
My neices and I were playing “soccer” with the peppercorns from the pepper grinder. One overzealous “kick” and the peppercorn landed in the hair of a lady at a neighboring table. The girls and I laughed so hard we almost fell under the table!
My in-laws were in town and everything is slower when they’re around. We were having dinner and I could sense a meltdown coming but couldn’t get out fast enough. It started with my daughter (4 months old at the time) throwing up on me while everyone ignored us. Once I kicked my husband enough for help and we were able to get out of there with our screaming, sick baby we got to the car and sure enough the car seat buckle was all twisted. Fifteen minutes later and a lot of tears we got her in the car seat and on our way home. Absolutely miserable!
We don’t dine out often but whenever we go out to eat at a hibachi restaurant or the cheese cake factory, I tell them it’s my son’s birthday. It’s amazing how much joy a little candle with some whip cream can do for a toddler. We just got done celebrating his 36 month birthday this past weekend!
My husband and I will always look at the restaurant menu online so we can have an idea of what to order before we even get there. That way we can decide in the car and order our meals when the waiter or waitress takes our drink order. This helps us get in and out quicker!
There is one restaurant that we go to that gives the kids a lunchbox while they wait that is filled with random toys…cars, animals, blocks, etc. It entertains my daughter, but I feel like it’s a germ factory!
The trick that worked for me – Feeding my toddler a few Cheerios and/or small bite size snacks on the way to the restaurant. We knew the place would be crowded so, with her tummy a little full, she waited for the food to arrive instead of having a meltdown.
P.S: Just a note (may not be a big deal) – The graphic says $1000 Target gift card and not $100.
My son is in middle school now, but when he was a toddler we had decided to go thru a drive-thru to avoid the whole sitting down in a restaurant… unfortunately, they were taking a long time with the food and my son leaned as far forward as he could while being restrained in a car seat and surprised us all by yelling an obscenity at into the drive thru window! Oops!
i use stickers to keep my kid entertained. lots and lots of stickers
My tip is dont go alone. We try not to take the kiddo out to dinner buy ourselves, we always like to invite friends to go with us. i think my favorite example of this was when my son was about 4 months old, we invited a friend of mine, her boyfriend and their 2 month old son out for dinner. The babies were just fine up until food arrived at the table. We played round robin with the babies, it was very much a game of take a few bites, take a baby and repeat. It was a semi success-semi fail. we all got some hot food but by the end all of our arms hurt.
My daughter (now 6) always takes the liberty of ordering her own food when we go out to eat. When she was younger she was under the impression that the servers were the Chef and made all the food. Once, she ordered a hot dog as part of her meal. When it arrived the bun was hard as a rock. To make matters worse, the hot dog itself appeared barely cooked. My daughter fussed and moaned about the state of her inedible hot dog. When the server came by to ask how everything was my daughter piped right up “this bun is HARD and I can’t eat any of it!” and then tells her “I don’t think you’re a good cook!”. We tried hiding our laughter as we explained to our daughter that the server doesn’t cook the food as we apologized and politely asked for a new hot dog.
we were at a Buffalo Wild Wings once and my 3 year old was obsessed with our server’s pink hair. She would scream every time she walked up, “She has pink hair!!!!” One time though, she leaned to me and was very excited to tell me that she had pink hair and “beeeg, beeeg boobies.” I am so grateful the server, who was a lovely girl, was out of earshot.
I have proudly carried a screaming toddler out of a restaurant on more than one occasion. Not my proudest moments…well…maybe they are! I let my little one have little versions of independence when we dine out. She has learned to treasure things like ordering her own beverage or cutting her food with a butter knife. I can eat in peace while she sliced her french fry into 50 pieces. At only 4 years old I think that is pretty impressive. I also don’t let the little messes bug me, gone are the days of bibs and wipes. If you wanna spend the rest of the night in a ketchup stained dress that’s on you sister!
A couple of things I bring in our ‘restaurant bag’
1. scissors to cut long straws into a manageable length for little ones (no one likes a straw poking them in eye or up their nose)
2. blue tape- hold a pesky paper placemat or coloring book pages in place, causing less frustration for little ones. Also it can be used for little fingers to play with.
Although we eat out regularly with my son (always order their food the moment you are seated!), at times it’s a full contact sport. Once we were feeling particularly ambitious and took my 16 month old out to dinner with another couple and their 2 year old daughter – I guess we were glutton’s for punishment. My son spent the whole dinner trying to grab everything off the table. Distracted by all that was going on, I must have placed my stemless wine glass slightly too close to the line of fire because when I finished asking the waiter for more napkins, I turned to find my wine glass upside down on my son’s lap with him completely soaked. Nothing like a 16 year old that stinks like booze! We left shortly after….and made sure it was bath night!
Where should i begin, we were at AYCE kbbq and our toddler isnt the best eater, but everything we kept putting on her plate was gone, and she seemed like she was enjoying her meal, hubby and I weren’t as attentive since we try to eat fast and leave. AYCE KBBQ means cooking table side and I am grilling it up and eating while hubby is eating and also feeding her and watching #2 who is now on solids as well but allergic to a crap ton of things so we play it safe and bring food for him. We are done and we check over everything, we like to clean up our kids messes as much as we can, I do not believe it is the servers job to clean up after them, but HOLY F*** #1 had amassed so much food under her seat/table it could have fed an entire third world country 🙁 We felt like the biggest aholes, worse parents of the night award was certainly ours…. lesson learned, be more attentive to whats UNDER the table when her plate is too clean 🙂
Since we arent able to clean up the mess well with mere antibac wipes and some napkins, we always try and leave a nice tip and profusely apologize for our mess.
My tip is to make sure you have plenty of things for the kids to do while you are there and set expectations before you arrive of what you want them to do!
Go out to eat with another couple with kids – your kids will be entertained and be better behaved!
When we take our almost 10 month old son out to eat I make sure we have snacks, order something he can eat part of, and seat him so he can people watch, it’s his favorite thing to do while we are eating.
I like tip #28 🙂
Well, my girls were always pretty well-behaved at restaurants. We started when they were young by taking them to age appropriate restaurants, a little earlier than at the normal dinner rush time and they knew our expectations. Everything was pretty great until one day when the girls were 2 and 4-years-old and we were at a nice dinner establishment and the 2-year-old smelled a foul odor, apparently someone at a table near us was having some gastrointestinal issues. As adults we know to just ignore it but as a 2-year-old, our Gabs pursed up her lips, raised her eyebrows and inquired very annoyed in her loudest outside voice, “Ewwwwww! Who faaaaaaaa—–hhhhhh—tttttteedddddddddd?” My husband and I almost died on the spot. It’s hard not to implode while holding in an explosion of laughter, and trying to maintain your composure while reprimanding a toddler for asking what everyone else in the vicinity wanted to know.Thank God she’s 9 now and just texts me these sorts of inquiries 🙂
We play the alphabet food game. Whoever is first picks a food. The next person has to name a food that starts with the last letter of the previous food. Example… First person says banana, next person must name a food that starts with A. It keeps them entertained, is educational (sort of), and is easy
enough for even my 5 year old who can’t read.
A few years ago my family was moving across country from NJ to CA. My husband had to leave to gethis new job started
Sorry teenager leaned on a button while talking to me.. 🙂
My husband had been in CA for 2 months when myself and our 2 boys left on the long car drive from NJ to CA. On day 3 we decided to call it a night and stopped to get a bite to eat. I was tired and stressed and just not really paying attention. I turned to answer my oldest son’S question and hit my cup sending my entire drink into the lap of my toddler. My older son was hysterically laughing while my little guy screamed in horror from my cold sticky soda. I couldn’t do anything but stare.
If we want a quiet dinner, we feed our daughter her dinner at home, then we take a drive to get her nice and sleepy. Once she falls asleep, we go to a restaurant, and plop her nice and cozy in her stroller, roll her right up to our table, and she sleeps the whole time! We get a nice dinner out without any kiddie drama for a night!
My husband and I go out to eat once in while and when we do we make sure to bring the ipad to play nursery rhymes for our toddler. If not, then all hell will break loose which us kind if embarrassing and defeats the whole effort if enjoying a good meal.
bring back up snacks they love and your ezpz mat 🙂
We love the Story Cubes! With 4 kids ranging 6-12, they really come in handy. We’ve used them for a long time.
We only go to places that are kid friendly now. My favorite one has a big fish tank.
Sad but true funny story. Every single time we took my baby out she would have a terrible blow out.
My baby is usually food at sticking to his schedule but we were out around noon, the busiest time in an eatery…my baby decides to wake up from his nap and demand milk. After rushing to get a bottle prepped to keep his noise level down, he finishes and let’s out this grown adult burp. I was all shades of red!
A good tip/trick is to prepare the food your child usually eats at the restaurant or that you anticipate they’ll order and make a homemade version of it so they can get familiar with it and learn how to eat it in a clean manner before the real thing.
We try to eat out every other week with the kids. I have a 6 year old son who is Autistic, a 3 year old son who is in recovery from 2 rare forms of blood cancer and underwent a bone marrow transplant, and an almost 18 year old Daughter. I have become quite good at being prepared for just about anything. Broderick and Connolly each have their own satchel with small toys, coloring items or whatever they may need. I have a small bag I toss in my vechile that has small scissors to cut down straws to kid size (which really helps keep drinks being knocked over to a minimum), individual wet naps, another box of crayons, colored gel pens, small note pad for extra paper, hand sanitizer and an egg timer (with very quiet bell). Egg timer is for correcting behavior, taking away a treat or desert, and playing a restaurant game we made up. I couldn’t live without the scissors or egg timer!
My daughter went through a phase when she was about 18 months where she loved to make coughing sounds- just for fun. We went to a restaurant where she decided to do this loudly and dramatically. Everybody there thought she was choking, the whole place became silent and the waitress ran over ready to provide the Heimlich! When they saw that my husband and I were not even reacting, people became upset with US! Nobody would believe us that this was just a game and our daughter LOVED all the attention… so she did it a couple more times before we left for good measure.
Trying to nurse my three-week old baby while going out for a pizza. Between being inexperienced and trying to stay modestly covered in 90 degree weather, i wasn’t able to feed myself. Baby’s needs first, right? I had to have my husband cut up my pizza and feed it to me just so my son wouldn’t cry. I’m sure as he gets older we’ll have plenty more stories.
I have pretty much avoided eating out with my toddler as she can’t handle sitting for long periods of time yet. I have learned to sit by windows, choose fast casual dining like Panera, and to sit by other children. She is at the stage where older children fascinate her.
My almost 2 year old isn’t terrible when we go out to eat. I do dread it because you never know how she is going to act or react. I made a restaurant kit for her with coloring, stickers, lacing cards, and flash cards. Usually they work. Otherwise French fries are a winner or any old lady who engages with her haha.
A few weeks ago we went to a Japanese restaurant that has one of those conveyor belts for sushi dishes. My kids spent the whole meal looking a the food go by. Once the meal go there they also brought trainer chop sticks. Having some sort entertainment or something to look at while waiting is a good way to keep them still. And choosing a restaurant family friendly makes thing always easier.
Play restaurant! Practice manners, and try dining out frequently, even if it is just picking up a muffin at the coffee shop. My daughter (2.5) feels special when we have a muffin and coffee at the Starbucks tables instead of bringing it home.
We always order the kids’meals when we order drinks so that they come out like appetizers. That way I’m not completely simultaneously feeding them and me. Then we bring special restaurant only toys including Melissa and Doug water painting books or magnetic Thomas books. I find by keeping these toys kept away except for when we dine out they still have some interest in them and entertain the long enough for me to at least eat a few bites in peace-ish! ?
I always carry a pad of stickers in my bag. They are lightweight and the perfect thing to pull out while we wait for our food. Also- we stick to fast casual dining.
I always have a small coloring book and crayons! When that doesn’t work, we pull out the interactive “Laugh and Play” app 🙂
My husband and I are about to be First Time Parents. We’ve been making a weekly tradition of trying new restaurants (and going back to old favorites) to see which are likely to be kid friendly. Pleased to say we’ve got a pretty good list going (at least in our heads) ????
Bring snacks in case the food takes too long!
We order the kid’s meal when we order our drinks so we are sure it comes out first. Sometimes we even order a side of (acceptable) veggies first as the initial snack and the main meal as the treat after veggies. As parents we’ve also decided we had to “lighten up” when we go out to eat. Expecting a two year old to sit quiet and still, while following every table manner is exhausting and less fun for everyone. We have our ground rules and the second those are crossed we go outside for a talk about good behaviors and making good choices.
A tip- look at the menu online before going to the restaurant so you can order as soon as possible instead of taking forever to decide what you want to eat.
Explosive poop and no diaper… nuff said
The worst is going out to eat with family – they’re used to long, leisurely dinners that involve multiple sloooooow courses! It was my mother-in-law’s birthday dinner at a reasonably fancy restaurant. My husband and I would take turns walking our 2 year old around outside, climbing stairs, looking at pictures, doing everything we could to keep him occupied in between trying to eat a few bites of each course. Finally, after 2.5 hours, he started protesting loudly “I want to go home!!!!”, so I had my meal wrapped up and headed home with him, while the in-laws agreed to bring my husband home later so he could stay and hang out with the family!
Living in Iowa, wait times are often not very long but one day I decided to take my 3 year old downtown, many restaurants were closed on Sunday. So, we waited over 1.5 hours to eat at zombie burger. Yes, there are zombies there. Ha! We took a walk and people watched and my toddler climbed a lot. As long as they are not stuck at a table, my kids do a lot better. Such a fish to look out or sucker/ candy bowl stashed for them to raid.
We were eating on the inside of an Italian restaurant as Spaghetti is not something good to eat on the go. What could go wrong? No paper napkins only cloth…should run if you identify this before hand…kids menu but only cloth napkins…what? Cleaning spaghetti off toddler with one is horrible…then you turn to preschooler who took too big bite of breadstick and proceeds to vomit Spaghetti….red sauce kind all over table and the to go containers with half eaten food inside and bread bowl basket (which is kind they reuse). Let’s hope it was thrown away. No tip could have been big enough…
Our best trick is one listed above – go early. We may dine out with the senior crowd for this season of life, but we are far less likely to deal with a toddler meltdown. When we do, it’s time to take the food to go while the other goes outside with our son.
Whenever we try to tell the kids that they need to act like they’re in a restaurant, everyone gets the giggles.
For me I am just learning all the tricks for eating out with a toddler (19 months) and a baby (4 months). We basically don’t eat out! But if we have visitors we will and so far bringing the sippy cup is key! Those restaurant kids cups with straws are a disaster waiting to happen. 🙂
We bring the baby’s (she’s 1) food with us. We never buy the kid’s meals which usually get wasted, because she’d rather eat off of our plates anyway!
We ask for boxes right away and the check in case a hasty exit is needed. On somewhat good dining days with our 16 month old, we give him the straw and hold the water glass while he spends a good amount of time occupying himself those things.
I always make sure our daughter goes to the bathroom before we leave to eat out, since we are ‘public bathroom phobic’ and especially so with a young child! And we always bring a package of baby wipes – we use it to wipe the table/seats (because more often than not there is leftover food/grime), and we clean our hands with baby wipes after touching the menus and before eating, also to prevent another trip to the public bathroom!
My tip is to teach your kids about manners at home. Before walking into the restaurant, let them know what you expect of them. It works! Kids want to please their parents.
My husband and I had a date night scheduled, but the morning of the date, our babysitter got sick and cancelled. My husband called everywhere but could not find another babysitter on such short notice. So we decided to make the most of it and take the kids out to dinner — at a more kid-friendly restaurant. However, the food for our kids was brought out about 30 minutes before my husband’s and my food (which we specifically did NOT want), so when our food came, our kids were done and ready to run around the restaurant. Rather than take turns eating while the other chased the kids, we just got our food to go and ended up sitting in front of the tv eating our food after we got the kids to bed.
We tried to go out to eat with a newborn baby. Big mistake. As soon as we ordered she started crying and would not stop. Everyone was looking. The waitress was offering milk, lol. Needless to say, it didn’t work out. We just asked them to please make it to go. We didn’t try that again for a while.
Our last resort is letting our toddler play on our phone…otherwise, we bring books and show him things on the table to play with!
The buffet idea is genius! My kid would eater have two bites of 20 things which we obviously can’t do at home.
i dont have any kids, but i remember dining out with my parents when i was young. we used to go to this nice restaurant almost every sunday. i always ordered the lobster stuffed with crabmeat. everyone used to tease me abt being able to eat the whole thing, even the waiters.
Bringing toys, books, or ipad with us when dining out always helps keep the kids entertained so we can enjoy our meal.
Just last week we were on family vacation with the in laws, aunt, uncle, cousin, the whole crew. Of course my two year old daughter woke up with a fever the morning that we hit the road (13 hours in the car, broken into two legs but still. She’s two…). Day two of the drive & she starts puking as soon as we start driving. By the time we reach our destination, she seems to be feeling a bit better though. She specifically requests to go out for dinner with the family, she wants to eat. I should mention at this point, this is my only child…
We all go out, she hoovers up the guacamole & chips, a perennial favorite. Dinner arrives & my husband piss her in the high chair (she’d been on his lap). That’s when I see the first shudders. I quickly suggest that she sit on my lap, as she’s protesting the high chair. Two minutes later she’s puking in my hand as I search desperately for a napkin. We go to the bathroom to clean her up while my husband gets our meals to go. On the way out the door, she hurls all over both me & herself & I have to rush back to the table to deal with it.
Best part is, we were sitting next to my 15 yo nephew’s girlfriend who had come along for the trip when my daughter started throwing up. I’m pretty sure that we provided some strong incentive to use birth control!
My kids are the ones running around and can’t sit still through their entire meal. It’s a wee bit tragic even at home. #PoorParentingIKnow However, when we do go out nowadays we whip out the Youtube/Netflix. They eat, they sit, we get to eat without stars and public yelling. Probably not a good habit but it’s one that will have to stick….for now.
My son likes to stand on the booth and stop servers walking by and ask them if they have any treats, it gets him lots of laughs – but no treats yet. I like to bring a post-it note pad and crayons to keep my boys busy.
We were on a family trip to Glasgow and my kids met some distant relations for the first time. My 5 year old engaged an Aunt by telling her the secret to ordering food in the UK. “You tell your mom that you want chips, but they will bring you French fries!” She was so well behaved the whole trip because she thought she was being tricky!