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
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
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
14) Bring your own portable placemat. For babies and toddlers, they make silicone mats
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.
After a fun prevning (pre-evening) of walking around a cool neighborhood in our area with shops/restaurants/coffee/playground etc we figured a bite to eat would be a nice wrap-up and just enough to have an uber tired kiddo that would go to bed easily once we got home. Needless to say, the tiny one still had plenty of energy during the meal and managed to 1)strip each piece of pizza we gave her for the pineapple 2) remove all the crayons and most of their wrappers from the package 3) throw them under the table, of course 4) dive under the table to get them 5) crawl back up on the booth 6) dismount the bench and lodge herself between the window and the booth and the booth behind us.
Who knew pizza could be so complicated?
No child was harmed in the making of this evening out 🙂
My baby girls loves to eat everything! So much, that she manages to find dried food in the restaurant high chair and eats it! EWWW!! Even though I try to make sure it’s clean, she still ends up finding things to eat.
My son went to the bathroom came back to the table with a toilet paper trail hanging out of his pants. All eyes on him. How embarassing and also funny!
My husband and I come from a restaurant background so our biggest “concern” is where we went wrong when our foodie kid will now only eat items covered in generic ketchup or processed cheese- what happened? Ha- some funny stories above !!!
My son has always loved going out to eat. We eat out way too much and he learned as a little guy exactly how the process works. When he was just over one we went to a new spot and I mentioned to him that they had guacamole. He was an early talker and proceeded to yell at every waiter that walked by, “Guac-a-mole!!! Guac-a-mole!!!” until he was presented with his guacamole. We got some pretty strange looks, but it was quite entertaining.
Family dining tip- feed your child something BEFORE you leave the house to go to the restaurant. OR bring a little snack to give your LO when you first sit down. Ordering and cooking take a LONG time and a LO who isn’t hangary is a lot more pleasant.
The one thing I do to make eating out with kids a little easier is to lay a Hershey bar on the table and tell my daughter if she eats all of her food and behaves, she can have the candy bar. It usually works. Don’t be naive enough to give it to your child before your ready to leave the restaurant, you will only make that mistake once, because once your child has their reward they will act like a complete lunatic, and the chocolate will only make them crazier.
My advice for dining out with kids? Take the grandparents with you!
I’m usually by myself when we go out to eat (my husband is deployed currently). as long as we have our food, my kids are good, it’s just the wait that is rough. This list has been great to get some new ideas!
We were at a buffet restaurant at the Grand Canyon (on a bus tour). we were in the food line and and i was holding my plate and my 6 year old’s plate. Suddenly with no warning, she turns and pukes all over the floor. I was holding plates with food and finally managed to hand them to someone and rush her off to the bathroom. and we couldn’t leave afterwards because we were on a bus tour.
We took our child out for breakfast. The server showed up, and my child said “I wanted to go to (competing breakfast restaurant)!” I was mortified.
We decided to take our 16-month-old (she’s almost three now) out to Red Lobster for an impromtu dinner out. We were all enjoying our dinners, and Violet was especially enjoying her Lobster Mashed Potatoes, when suddenly out of nowhere, she barfs it all back up. Then looks at me and smiles and says oops. After we made sure she was ok, we laughed so hard while trying to clean up the table and ask for the check to get out of there as quick as possible. Nothing like a good barf session to ruin a perfectly good night out. 🙂
we went in to pizza hut just a typical lunch around 2 though which isnt typical and my grandmaw had just passed on and he was 18 months and he got a pizza and i think it was ham and pineapple and for some reason he picked up the glass we had for him and i had turned to get a napkin and he dumped the whole glass on the pizza as he didnt have a clue and the people looked at us and said it happens to all of us and im like yea i see know as i am the baby of the family and this is the first time i ever changed a diaper feed a baby or even took care of one which i was like nooooo the pizza
I always bring the those Melissa and Doug paint with water books. Totally keeps my three year old occupied. We usually always order an appetizer too.
My trick is letting them have as much chocolate milk as they want. Usually guarentees they won’t eat any actual food. Keeps them happy though!!
A bad memory… My son loudly announced, “The waiter is sticking his butt in my face!”. It was not a proud moment. 🙁
bring some activity or coloring books to keep them occupied
We have 6 children but we’ve never let that stop us from taking them out to eat occasionally. I always try to have some type of activity available, like paper and crayons, but as a last resort, I will allow them to play a game on my phone. I think my husband is the worst behaved when we go out, lol.
One incident I remember was when we took the kids out to Cracker Barrel. One of my daughters was attempting to squeeze butter out of one of those little packets and butter shot out and splattered across my face. Of course my husband thought it was just hilarious so he starts laughing and cracking jokes about it. Then the kids followed his lead. Everyone was looking at our table. The last thing I wanted was people seeing me with butter all over my face. I can laugh about it now, but I was not happy at the time.
Keeping flash cards of some sort in your purse at all times is a must – if you decide to dine out on the fly (you wacky, spontaneous parents, you!), you’ll be glad you did.
We are all about #28! Our kids know that when they get to go out to eat in a restaurant it is a special occasion and should be treated as such. Businesses with take-out and drive-thru see more of us. If we do go out we try for breakfast or brunch when the kids aren’t tired and more likely to keep it together. 😉
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!
my 2 year old got really emotional when they cleared away my half eaten food- she thought someone was stealing my food!
At first I thought she was being adorably overprotective, but now I’m thinking bizarre emotional attachment to food!
When my daughter was about 9 months old, we went out to breakfast with some friends. We ordered her scrambled eggs since she always liked them when I made them at home. She ate quite a bit of her plate and then, out of nowhere, threw up everything! I think the eggs were just too rich compared to the plain, dry ones I would make. Fortunately, we had one of those silicone placemats with the little catch-all tray and most of it landed on that. So, we just rolled up the placemat and packed it up in the diaper bag. After that she was just fine, so we were able to finish our meal. Needless to say, it was a very odd morning.
When our first son was small and just starting to eat solid foods, we went out for dinner one night. We let our son eat our bread throughout the meal, and at the very end, after we had paid, he threw up. A lot. My husband caught most of it of it in his hands and we scooped/mopped up as much as we could, but our server was nowhere to be found and after trying for a few minutes to get some help, we decided just to get that kid out of there. We left a really big tip.
I took my daughter out alone for lunch with my best friend and his family. I was really nervous since I had never gone out for a meal alone with my 7 month old. Shockingly, I was embarassed at the restaurant not because my daughter was crying or screaming but because my best friend’s middle child was running circles around our table throwing food on the ground. He and his wife were so used to this behavior that they didn’t even try to stop her. I just hope my daughter doesn’t remember this once she becomes a toddler…
Our daughter has always been fairly well behaved when we go out until this last week. We are potty training and although I knew we would probably have an accident since she has a hard time going on the big toilet we decided to go anyways. I really needed to get out! Well like I thought she had to go but wouldn’t go on the big scary toilet. And so she had an accident. And then another. And then another. And then another. She went through 4 pairs on underware in 45 minutes! Needless to say we had to box up all the food and get out before we had another accident in our last pair of underware!
What works for us is that it’s best to know what you want before you go in. Whether it’s for everyone or just the kids; food will come faster and kids will be happier.
Last time we went to a restaurant we had all 3 kids. My 3 year old, 2 year old, and 6 month old. My 3 year old threw a tantrum because they didn’t have “daddy coke” (chocolate milk). My 2 year old threw her cup and hit the table next to us. & 6 month old had a blow out. Needless to say, we rarely eat out for that very reason. Haha!
love all these stories.
We bagged on taking Daddy to the nice restaurant for Father’s Day as my 2 and 4 year old were already tired and whiny so went to the casual Mexican with outside dining tables. My 2 year old would not sit still for all the world but it was ok in that setting. Then he belted out “Hiiiiiiiiii” to some random guys walking past on the sidewalk. Needless to say they did not look to be the friendly type and they walked right past initially I thought. However…20mins later they walked by the other way and made it a point to get his attention and say hi and wave.
Gotta love how kids can bring people together in random ways.
So I’ve been trying to train my 2 year old to drink from a cup without spilling. We went to a restaurant a couple of weeks ago and he asked for milk In a cup. I asked the waiter to bring me a kiddy cup with the straw and the lid. Not even 1 min passed before the lid came off and milk spilled all over the table and rug! What a mess!
We once had to leave a restaurant before the food came out because my son was being so wild. I grabbed the waitress and just told her to box it up immediately and we’d take it with us. lol
we find it’s best to go to restaurants that serve chips or bread right when you sit down.. keeps her occupied while we order and wait for our meals!
We went out with another couple to dinner at the new restaurant in town, and brought our 11mo son. He was sitting in a high chair at the end of the table when the apps came. The waitress (who clearly did not have kids) set the plates in front of him. I no dinner said to my husband, “can you move those so he doesn’t grab one”, than he picked up a plate and promptly threw it on the floor. The whole place was silent. Like hear a pin drop silent.
Love all the stories and tips. My number one must do when eating out with kids is to make sure I have something to keep them occupied while waiting for the food.
My tip is if you are dining with older kids who tend to complain too much. My daughter sometimes gets stuck in negativity, especially when we sit down while waiting for our food. Since this is the time that I really want to enjoy with my teenager we play a little ‘game’ called 3 good and 3 bad. I ask her to say 3 bad or negative things about her day and let her vent for about 5 minutes. Then after that is out we talk about 3 things she is thankful for or 3 things that happened that were good. Then we use the rest of the time waiting discussing all the positives we are thankful for. If the dining is with my younger children I ask them to find all the different shapes they can in the restaurant, the person with the most shapes wins. Or I ask them to find patterns within the walls or tables or people or chairs. ITs a fun activity that takes their mind off of waiting.
My family went to Cracker Barrel one night in November. While we were eating my (then 4 yo) daughter spotted “Santa” (white beard, red and green sweater) sitting at the table behind us. She kept staring at him during dinner but was too afraid to say hi. As we were leaving Santa said hello to her and gave her a candy cane! She was so excited and told EVERYONE we came across how Santa was having dinner at Cracker Barrel like a regular person!
There’s a sports bar near our house that must be a front for illegal activities because it is never busy. We can go there on Fridays with a bunch of neighbors and let the pack of kids take over. There’s usually at least a dozen kids ranging in age between 18 months and 11 years old, 5 of them being 8 year olds. They play tag, scream, bang on the video games and the staff don’t seem to care. There are rarely other patrons, except for the drunks at the end of the bar. My kids love it so much that my 8 year old has requested “neighborhood night at Hooligan’s” for his birthday in August (yes, it’s called Hooligan’s. Because of course).
Success.. When both my girls age 4 and 2 actually eat what is in front of them at the restaurant. And it’s not fried or something fast food!
[…] that will fit on any standard cup or glass. I found out about them while researching my post on restaurant tips and tricks. Genius, […]
That sounds like a great idea to bring your own placemat for the kids in case they’re really messy. My baby has just turned old enough to be able to come to restaurants with my husband and me. We want to go and find a good BBQ restaurant to celebrate. A placemat will definitely be helpful for us there.
I like your suggestion to ask for your kids’ food to be served as soon as it is ready so that you can easily cut it before you get your own meal. My husband and I have a toddler, and we want to bring her with us to a restaurant for the first time. I think that we’ll find a sports restaurant to go to and use your hints.
I love that you talked about how kids would love to pick their own food so going to a buffet is a great choice. I think this has helped me decide to have the celebration of my son’s birthday in a buffet restaurant since he is a picky eater. Honestly, he can eat anything. The problem is, it can be unpredictable what he wants to eat at a specific time of day. So thanks a lot for the tips!
Wow. You’ve really changed your tune from that super entitled note that I saw you were circulating a while back. You know, the super rude note where you claimed that servers share some responsibility for your offspring and in which you admitted to “demanding bread and water before you sit down.” Do you remember that? I will never forget it. It is one of the grossest displays of entitlement that I have ever seen. I’m still not convinced you’re not a terrible person and I am seriously glad you’ve never dined in my restaurant. As a manager, If presented with that note, I would probably just refuse to serve you. Being a parent does not absolve you of the responsibility to behave with a modicum of basic human decency. I hope you have truly changed your approach to dining out. I hope you’re no longer a garbage excuse for a human being.
I like how the article explains that when you go out to eat with your kids, you should make sure to bring triangle crayons for your kids as they won’t roll off of the table. My husband and I are wanting to dine out but we are having to bring our daughter because we don’t have a babysitter. We will make sure to bring her triangle crayons so she can color and they won’t roll off.
Every Monday my family goes out to a restaurant to spend time together and bond. There have been a few times that we have traveled a long way to the restaurant and it turns out that my kids didn’t want anything on the menu. I’ll be sure to use your tips in the future, especially the one about looking at the menu online first.
Thanks for the tip to ask if our kids’ food can be brought out as soon as it’s ready to reduce the risk of them getting impatient. My husband and I want to take our family out for pizza tonight to celebrate our oldest daughter’s good report card. Following your advice should help the dining experience be as enjoyable as possible for everyone!
Thanks for mentioning that you should look at a restaurant ahead of time to ensure that there is something that your child will eat. For my wife’s birthday, I would like to take my family out to eat at a restaurant, but I am worried that my daughter will have trouble choosing a menu item since she has a very specific taste in food. Maybe it would be best to look at a menu prior to going.
I loved your idea to check out menus online beforehand to see what your kids want to eat and to go out in the early evening to skip the rush. My husband and I decided we want to do a family night every Monday and are wanting to go out to an Italian restaurant this week. I’ll make sure we use these good tips to help everything go smoothly.
I liked your tip of eating at a booth with your kids if your dining at a restaurant. My wife and I are traveling to a big city soon and we were wondering what the proper way to eat at a restaurant would be if we bring kids with us. I’ll be sure to tell her that we should eat a booth when dining at a restaurant with our family.
Thanks for this very helpful article. Next week, my family and my boyfriend’s kids are going on a trip to Silverdale. I admit that I haven’t been great with kids, so I tried to search it up online. I’ll take note of what you said about getting a booth if it’s an available. Because you mentioned that in this way the kids can move around more without disturbing other people.
Hi Mommies! Please keep your sticky little demons at home. They just ruin everyone’s experience anyway.
I like your suggestion to ask for an extra plate for our kids’ food to help it cool as quickly as possible. I was thinking about taking my kids out for lunch so we can order customized pizza to reward them for doing well on their online schooling. Thanks for sharing these methods I can use to help the restaurant experience be enjoyable for everyone!
Thank you for giving me the idea that I can practice with my kids at home and pretend we’re eating out so I can teach them proper manners that should be displayed in public. My husband and I want to celebrate our anniversary in a nice place but since there’s no one else to look after the kids, we have to take them with us. I hope everything goes well before we try a nearby Nigerian restaurant.
That’s a good idea to ask for the kid’s meal as soon as it is done, even if it doesn’t come with the rest of the food. I got a bonus at work last week, so I am thinking about taking my family out to eat. Your tips will be helpful as I prepare to take my 3-year-old and 5-year-old to a restaurant.
Thank you for this article, for suggesting to get in and get out. I have 3 kids and my husband and I really want to try taking them out to a restaurant. We will take your tips and try them out so we can go to a restaurant again!
I like your idea to bring a portable placement. I want to find a family restaurant to take my kids to. Using your advice should help everything go smoothly!