When did you start taking your kids out to eat?

[SB621]

So a few other threads which talked about eating out got me thinking. I have 2 toddlers at home. DH and I avoid eating out with them like the plague . They can't sit still (expected at this age) and would rather run around a restaurant then sit in their chair. No matter what we order for them they rarely eat anything when we are out. Then just trying to wrangle them in pretty much ruins any chance of DH and I enjoying our meals. So at what age did you actually start eating out with your kids and being able to be relaxed through the meal?

 

[lknvrb4]

We started taking our kids out to eat as babies. I have never once had a problem with my kids even trying to run around. The kids always sit inside a booth and we are on the outside. I always make sure I have some crayons and paper for them to keep busy with. What really drives me crazy is seeing kids at dinner with their tablets just to keep entertained. I think kids need to know how to act in public without a device keeping them in check.

 

[SB621]

We started taking our kids out to eat as babies. I have never once had a problem with my kids even trying to run around. The kids always sit inside a booth and we are on the outside. I always make sure I have some crayons and paper for them to keep busy with. What really drives me crazy is seeing kids at dinner with their tablets just to keep entertained. I think kids need to know how to act in public without a device keeping them in check.

Well in that case I'm jealous Iknvr! My kids are like curious george and want to go into the kitchen and say "Hi" to everyone at the other tables- they are mischief makers!

 

[armywife13]

We have taken our girls out since they were babies. They are now 3 and 9 months. Both are very well behaved, or at least as good can be expected from a toddler and baby. Our 3 year old sits in the booth or her seat nicely. Like lknvrb4, we bring crayons and paper. We also bring a book or two for her to look at. Our 9 month is very good as long as we bring little toys for her too.

As far as eating, my 9 month old eats table food and will eat pretty much anything we give her-it is AMAZING. Our 3 year old, on the other hand is one of the pickiest eaters ever. I usually keep a small back up meal along for her(like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and some applesauce) incase there isn't a kids menu. We do insist thst she try a bite of our food though, just to give her practice at trying food.

 

[chrono]

I have "fidgeters" who find it difficult to sit still but we still went out to meals together since they were toddlers. Keeping them busy with quiet toys helps a lot. We make sure they are sufficiently hungry enough to eat when the meal is served but not so hungry as to feel out of sorts.

 

[yennyfire]

We didn't do fancy meals out with the kids when they were tiny (under 5)...we stuck to places like Houlihan's or California Pizza Kitchen where they expect kids and are used to noise. I made a little set of "Pocket Game" for each kid that I keep in my purse with dry erase markers. The games include hangman, tic-tac-toe, the alphabet game, and a blank page for drawing. Each page is laminated so that they can draw on it and then use a napkin to erase. This has kept them entertained for at least 30 minutes so that DH and I can enjoy our meal.

Now, at 7 and 9, we can go out to nicer places where a meal can take 90 minutes or more and have conversations with them. We have a "no electronics" rule for all meals, so if they are getting antsy and don't want to chat anymore, I STILL pull out their pocket games and it keeps them busy for quite a while. Here's a photo of what I made (I can't claim that I came up with the idea on my own though...saw it on Etsy and copied it! )

The only downside to being able to go out for nicer meals with your kids is that they eat like adults and we pay the price!! They love mussels and scallops, filet mignon, etc. so we aren't able to order off of a kid's menu (if available) or ask the waiter if they can just make plain pasta....that doesn't fly anymore, so we don't go out as often as we'd like just because it's so darn expensive! So be careful what you wish for!

 

[SB621]

hahah Yenny that pocket game is soo cute! My kids aren't old enough to read and write yet so I'm not sure how far that will get me. But still. We do bring crayons and small puzzels but my son has zero interest. Oh well! One day he will get there!

And I actually here you NOW about not ordering off the kids menu. DH and I aren't fans of stuff that is typically on there (like chicken nuggets, crappy pizza etc) so we typically order off the adult menu for them now, plus we have noticed in Europe most places don't have kids menus. Just smaller serving sizes at a barely reduced cost. It is a toss up if they eat it or not. I paid 20 Euro over the weekend for my DS to have a salmon dinner, he ate all of it which is great but 20 Euro is like $25USD!!!! For a 3 year old! I need to look into getting a second job. I shudder to think what teenagers will cost to feed.

 

[yennyfire]

Remind me how old your kids are SB? Yeah, I think I remember noticing that most European restaurants don't have kids menus....ouch! Luckily, at the places we usually go, I was able to cobble a reasonably healthy meal together. I might order Mac and Cheese, but give the kids some of my grilled chicken and order a side of veggies...my kids aren't big fans of typical kids meals either.

 

[baby monster]

3 for my child. We only take him to a diner or a small sushi place. Both are used to kids. He eats off the regular menu. If we want to stay longer than 30 min, I have to bring out youtube cartoons but I'm hoping to end that practice when he can sit still a bit longer.

 

[arkieb1]

I have taken my son out to eat since he was a baby. He used to like all types of food when he was smaller (he is fussier now) and when asked what he wants to this day he will pick something like sushi over Mc Donalds.

I take colouring in things and books etc, sometimes nothing at all if it is going to be a short amount of time, I do take the Ipad if we are going out for a long time and there is not much else to do.... and I don't think that is horrifying when there are no other kids at the table, we are going to be a couple of hours+ and there are going to be a number of adults especially when we are trying to talk to without constantly being hassled by the 6 year old. He has to earn Ipad time by doing his homework, jobs around the house/tasks and general good behaviour anyway and frequently goes weeks without it so he sees Ipad time as a major treat, so rather than the devil incarnated I see it as a way to have a peaceful time when we dine out. There are a heap of educational games and programs you can put on them not just rubbish. TV time and Ipad time are motivational rewards in my household not every day fixtures.

 

[momhappy]

So a few other threads which talked about eating out got me thinking. I have 2 toddlers at home. DH and I avoid eating out with them like the plague . They can't sit still (expected at this age) and would rather run around a restaurant then sit in their chair. No matter what we order for them they rarely eat anything when we are out. Then just trying to wrangle them in pretty much ruins any chance of DH and I enjoying our meals. So at what age did you actually start eating out with your kids and being able to be relaxed through the meal?

We started eating out almost immediately after our children were born. My children were all born close together, so we had all toddlers at one time too. I don't think that it's fair to say that you should "expect" a toddler to not have the ability to sit still. Obviously, that age can pose a number of challenges, but we never had toddlers that ran around a restaurant because that sort of behavior wasn't an option. We have always taught our kids that when you are in public, it is a shared space, and you need to respect the other folks who share that space around you. Obviously, when my children were infants, we dealt with our fair-share of crying, but a crying child would be immediately removed from the restaurant in an effort to avoid disturbing the other diners. I think that it's critical that you develop positive habits early on. Restaurants are for eating and enjoying each other's company, they are not for running, being loud, etc. and it doesn't take long for a child to figure that out if that is what is expected of them. It takes a lot of hard work when they are younger, but it pays off in the end. My children (who are all elementary school-age now) order their own food and they do so by looking at the waiter/waitress and saying, "May I please have X." Do you know how many times I had to remind them to use manners???? I probably looked at my kids and said "may I please have" a thousand times before my kids actually started picking it up and using it on their own I should add that when my kids were younger (toddlers), I always brought plenty of quiet activities for them (coloring, books, quiet games/toys, etc.) and even now, they can choose to entertain themselves with coloring, an IPad, books, etc. until the food arrives (once the food arrives, the activities need to be put away). If you don't want your kids to get bored, you have to provide things for them to do. Happy kids = happy parents.

 

[Laila619]

We've been taking our kids out to eat since they were babies. They are now 3 and 1.5. They both are well-behaved and enjoy eating out (usually for dinner). We go out about once per week, usually on the weekend. So much fun! We also go to Sunday brunch regularly.

ETA: the 1.5 year old CAN get a little impatient and fidgety, but DH usually just walks her around for a bit and that does the trick.

 

[MichelleCarmen]

We took the kids out to dinner with us since they were babies. There is a Mexican restaurant we use to go to a lot back then that is really loud, so our kids chatter was lost in the crowd of chaos (but the noise didn't bother either boy).

I did experiment with taking my kids to many places when they were little...some places worked out great and other times we had to leave...The only place I wouldn't take my kids when they were very little were the movies.

 

[jaysonsmom]

We started taking our kids out to eat as babies. I have never once had a problem with my kids even trying to run around. The kids always sit inside a booth and we are on the outside. I always make sure I have some crayons and paper for them to keep busy with. What really drives me crazy is seeing kids at dinner with their tablets just to keep entertained. I think kids need to know how to act in public without a device keeping them in check.

Ditto all of the above. I think I was blessed with somewhat calm kids that could be entertained with crayons and kids' menus with colouring/worksheets. My nephews who are 3 and 1 are nightmares to eat out with. They scream, try to climb out of high chairs, and refuse to sit still for even 3 minutes! They only thing that calms them is an Ipad with the movie Cars playing over and over again.

 

[Matata]

When I started dating my DH his sons were 7 and 11 and I thought they had been raised by a pack of coyotes. Nonexistent table manners. When I moved in with DH, it wasn't long before the boys started asking why we didn't take them out to eat at nice restaurants (versus McDonald's drive thru or HomeTown Buffet). I told them it wasn't going to happen until they could sit through a meal without snorting milk out of their noses and throwing food at each other.

We started to practice good manners. I would cook a really nice meal, use linens and good dishes & tableware and we rehearsed what was expected behavior in a fine dining establishment. It took a couple of months before we had our first practice run in a nice restaurant and they passed with flying colors. They ordered escargot & steak

 

[amc80]

B was the perfect baby when going out to eat until he was about 10 months. Now, it's rare that we go out. He doesn't want to sit still. He wants to climb seats and run around. I think it will get better when he's a bit older, but at 19 months he just doesn't understand what's going on.

There are a few things I'm going to try next time we go out- like bringing a yogurt for him to eat. That keeps him occupied for at least 20 minutes.

 

[Logan Sapphire]

Mine (almost 4 and almost 6) have been eating out since they were babies as DH and I eat out a lot

We probably go out 3 times a week. I've only resorted to the iPhone several times when the food was really slow coming out. In general, we go to kid-friendly places at kid-friendly times. We've also ditched plans to eat out if it's clear the kids are tired or cranky or any other time we can expect a meltdown to occur.

 

[ponder]

I have a 2, 3, and 4 year old. We have been taking them out to eat almost every Saturday evening since my oldest was born. We go to a variety of family restaurants, Japanese to BBQ and everything in between. My kids are good eaters and will try almost everything. They sit in their chairs and do not run around. That being said they are little kids. If I feel that they are having a bad day (short nap, not feeling well, etc.) we won't go. I also always preview a menu to make sure there is something they will eat and will commonly order their entree as soon as we sit down. Nothing is worse than a hungry grumpy kid waiting for food. The diaper bag is stocked with crayons and matchbox cars to play with and my kids can play a mean game of "I spy". We usually go with my parents so their is a better ratio of adults to kids to assist them with eating, their drinks,napkins and going to the potty.

Higher end restaurant we do not take our kids to. We try to go out monthly with friends for adults only meals that may last up to 3 hours. No way could my kids do that, and I'm not stupid enough to try.

 

[momhappy]

We started taking our kids out to eat as babies. I have never once had a problem with my kids even trying to run around. The kids always sit inside a booth and we are on the outside. I always make sure I have some crayons and paper for them to keep busy with. What really drives me crazy is seeing kids at dinner with their tablets just to keep entertained. I think kids need to know how to act in public without a device keeping them in check.

Ditto all of the above. I think I was blessed with somewhat calm kids that could be entertained with crayons and kids' menus with colouring/worksheets. My nephews who are 3 and 1 are nightmares to eat out with. They scream, try to climb out of high chairs, and refuse to sit still for even 3 minutes! They only thing that calms them is an Ipad with the movie Cars playing over and over again.

While I think that there is some truth to the fact that some kids may not have as much energy than others, I think that some of it has to do with parenting.

 

[SB621]

I have a 2, 3, and 4 year old. We have been taking them out to eat almost every Saturday evening since my oldest was born. We go to a variety of family restaurants, Japanese to BBQ and everything in between. My kids are good eaters and will try almost everything. They sit in their chairs and do not run around. That being said they are little kids. If I feel that they are having a bad day (short nap, not feeling well, etc.) we won't go. I also always preview a menu to make sure there is something they will eat and will commonly order their entree as soon as we sit down. Nothing is worse than a hungry grumpy kid waiting for food. The diaper bag is stocked with crayons and matchbox cars to play with and my kids can play a mean game of "I spy". We usually go with my parents so their is a better ratio of adults to kids to assist them with eating, their drinks,napkins and going to the potty.

Higher end restaurant we do not take our kids to. We try to go out monthly with friends for adults only meals that may last up to 3 hours. No way could my kids do that, and I'm not stupid enough to try.

OH MY GOODNESS!!! PONDER!!! A 2,3, AND 4 year old!!! How do you have energy?!?!?! I have a 2 and 3 year old, while I love them and woudln't change a thing they have boundless energy and I have none! Things were easy when we had 1 child, but 2 was way harder then we thought. I have no idea how you deal with 3!

Anyhow we have been taking my kids out since they were babies but like AMC noted when they hit walking unassisted stage it just became hard. My kids litterally have boundless energy. We could climb mountains and they would then want to cross hike through a forest. Especially my son, he has a lot of nervous energy so sitting still to color or watch tv doesn't happen at all. The only time he actually will stay in 1 place is when food is involved.

 

[Skippy123]

SB, I am with you, there is no taking my kids out to eat. I am always exhausted when we are done eating. I bring books, cars, coloring books, etc. I feel like I am getting after them half the time. My boys are 2 years old and 10 months so right now, I only take them out to eat if it is somewhere kid friendly and a speedy restaurant.

eta: i just remembered I had this funny little thing on restaurants and toddlers!

 

[kenny]

We started taking our kids out to eat as babies. I have never once had a problem with my kids even trying to run around. The kids always sit inside a booth and we are on the outside. I always make sure I have some crayons and paper for them to keep busy with. What really drives me crazy is seeing kids at dinner with their tablets just to keep entertained. I think kids need to know how to act in public without a device keeping them in check.

Aren't paper and crayons devices?

I hate that everyone is constantly lost in some e-device, but they are just today's crayons and paper.

 

[momhappy]

^Yes, kenny, I agree. Electronics are just another form of entertainment. Whether you are keeping your kids busy with crayons or keeping them busy with an IPad, it makes no difference. Unless a child is being bothersome with an electronic device (like having the volume turned up too loud), then I don't know why a child using an electronic device would drive someone crazy? Personally, I'd much rather see a child utilizing an IPad as opposed to climbing/running around a restaurant...

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

I think we had DS with us at our favorite diner around 2 weeks? But that was with one. I'm not sure I'd want to wrangle two toddlers in a restaurant together, but DS is a great public diner. Obviously he has his moments, but for the most part we can take him with us without issue. Note, we're not taking him to Michelin rated restaurants, but we go to nicer places than Applebee's with him.

 

[monarch64]

We've taken our 21.5 month old out to eat since she was 9 days old. My husband and I have never let the fear of bothering others stop us from trying to raise a human being. We make sure to go to restaurants at appropriate times when there are lots of other families out, so we do a lot of weekend lunches and Friday or Saturday night dinners at casual dining restaurants. We always marvel at how well-behaved the children who are seated around us are. Parents with more than one child usually tell us they keep each other entertained/busy.

We don't do crayons or toys, she wants nothing to do with those things because she'd rather observe all the action going on around her. Many times we'll browse the menu online either before we leave the house or on the way to the restaurant and we'll place our order as soon as we are seated which cuts down on having to sit still and be quiet in half. I always request her food to be brought out as soon as it's ready instead of with ours, which also helps and isn't an issue because she takes forever to eat anyway. Then we all talk to each other and usually manage to get through the meal just fine.

 

[Kaleigh]

Pretty much as soon as they had proper table manners. We did not tolerate any misbehaviour in restaurants and taught them that this was a treat for them as much as it was for us. I didn't bring coloring books, but did bring snacks in case service was slow...

We got complimented all the time on how well mannered our kids were...


Now that they are 26 and 24, they look at kids and are like why aren't the parents doing anything??

Hehe!!!!

 

[MichelleCarmen]

We started taking our kids out to eat as babies. I have never once had a problem with my kids even trying to run around. The kids always sit inside a booth and we are on the outside. I always make sure I have some crayons and paper for them to keep busy with. What really drives me crazy is seeing kids at dinner with their tablets just to keep entertained. I think kids need to know how to act in public without a device keeping them in check.

Aren't paper and crayons devices?

I hate that everyone is constantly lost in some e-device, but they are just today's crayons and paper.

Paper and crayons aren't the same as an electronic device. I guess it does depend upon the kids, but generally, if my kids are coloring and I say something to them, they hear me. When they're on devices, my younger one has to be spoken to a couple of times before he responds and it can be really frustrating.

Of course I'm not advocating that kids climb all over the table and chairs at restaurants, but I don't see how having them sit at a restaurant table on a device rather than learn social skills is beneficial. And, just the same, it bugs the crap out of me when adults spend their nights on devices. Gotta love when a couple goes out to dinner and half the night involves telling FB about it!

 

[amc80]

Pretty much as soon as they had proper table manners. We did not tolerate any misbehaviour in restaurants and taught them that this was a treat for them as much as it was for us.

That's how we feel as well.

While I think that there is some truth to the fact that some kids may not have as much energy than others, I think that some of it has to do with parenting.

I think this is a lot of it, as long as you're talking about after a certain age. I have friends who just let their kids run wild and it drives me nuts. Those kids are 4 and 2.5, so they (especially the 4 year old) should understand what it means to be eating out. In our case, though, B is only 19 months and doesn't really understand why he has to be quiet and still.

 

[Laila619]

I think a lot of it is just the kid's personality. My son is rambunctious, but at restaurants he for whatever reason just instinctively knows to sit and behave. He is really sweet and wants to please others. And he loves going out to eat, and he knows if he acts up, we would stop going out.

My daughter is going to be much more of a spitfire I can tell.

 

[packrat]

Mine have been since they were little tiny. They'd lay in the car seat next to me or JD and sleep or play w/little crinkly/shaky toys or chew on a fist. When they got bigger, they'd sit in the high chair and eat Cheerios or Gerber puffs. We brought green beans when London was little..she was the green bean eatinest kid I ever met. Sure there was food to pick up off the floor so we didn't look like complete animals when we left and maybe a stray cheerio flying across the room, but nothing horrible, and if there was "acting up", JD would take the offender out to the car to settle down, sometimes taking his food w/him, and that child got to go hungry. if the food hadn't arrived, sometimes he would take them for a walk outside. We don't expect our kids to sit for two hours to eat a 17 course dinner. We sit, order, get our food, eat, and we go. We're not sitting around having coffee reading the paper like MY parents did. Hour, tops. No reason why kids can't sit and color, draw, play w/little toys, jabber at their parents for that length of time.