Eating out - What do you do?
Hi everyone, we have always gone out to eat with LO to child friendly places and nicer restaurants and cafes. He is now 19 months and frankly this weekend eating out was an embarrassment! We have a few methods to get through it (toys, snacks, singing !) but this weekend nothing seemed to work. I don't think it's acceptable to have a toddler running about, screaming etc while other people try to eat (would be interested to hear opinions on that) but at the same time it's important for us to eat out sometimes for our own sanity and as a family. What do you all do????
0
Replies
G has been a very good child every time we have taken him out (which has been from a young age) but to be honest as he approaches his second birthday, things are starting to become more challenging and I think the benefits of going out can be outweighed by the drama and effort involved. However, I agree that going is important so that children understand about table manners, socialisation etc.
Avoid nap times, eat early and good luck!
C.x
Also, how old is your lo? Mine is only coming up for 2 and reasoning with him wouldn't get us very far. If your lo is older perhaps the threat of leaving the restaurant would work? (And then follow your threat through of course).
C.x
I agree, on both counts!
We have always taken our son to restaurants, for lunch and dinner. And why not? If he gets grizzly, either myself or my husband will walk him around for a bit.
Our son has recently found mega bloks, so I ensure I have some of those, as well as a few toy cars for him to play with.
My husband is a chef and it really annoys him when his customers bring rude and unruly children into the restaurant. We have always eaten out, we both love our food, and so decided that things weren't going to change once we had kids! consequently our LO is quite used to going out and his palate has tasted many wonderful tastes he would not have normally experienced. However we have on occasions had bad behaviour from him, I think this is common of most kids when they get to 2 / 3!
We tend to eat out at lunchtime but have also eaten out in the evening with him, either early evening 5 / 6ish, or very occasionally a bit later. I think on one hand it doesn't hurt to keep them up once in a while - it's very common in europe / asia - but it's also not fair on the couples who have left their kids at home and want to enjoy a bit of peace.
We always make sure we have plenty of toys, books, and crayons for him to entertain him and we make a big fuss when he behaves well. We also always take his buggy so if he does misbehave he has to sit in 'time out' in the buggy, just because we're in a restaurant doesn't mean he's exempt from good behvaiour!
finally we always try and give him a 'run' before we go, so he's tired but not exhausted. It just means that he's not full of beans and bouncing around the place. or We try and eat around his naps so we can have a hour in peace and he wakes up happy!
Sorry, that turned into a bit of an essay but it's something that both my hubby and I have experience in!
i love to hear my children playing together and luaghing when we are at the table-yeah there is an acceptable noise limit but most people just smile and say how nice is it to see happy children and i agree!!
i find giving my 2 some crayons and a piece of paper heklps entertain them and also a tissue to hide things under?!
agaiun dont be emarressed-its the joys of having kids
xx
crayons and paper would be on the list of destractions i would write
ps-i dont think any child likes sitting in highchairs either,lol
I don't think there's an easy answer as with my lo something will work for her one day and not the next. She likes to be able to see everything so where you put your lo at the table could help keep him entertained? I have to say I manage to entertain lo by giving her a taste of what i'm eating usually, she likes to have a bit of what mummy has! We've also had crayons etc but I have never found that to work?
I just brazen it out tbh, if she starts to have a hissy fit I will carry on until i've finished what i'm eating etc and then we will go?
I have to say I have never taken her out for an evening meal as she is far too cranky when she's tired lol!
Anyway we take ours (2.5 yrs and 10months) out for lunch on a regular basis. Our favourite is Harvester because they are so accomodating and the salad cart is a good distraction until the main food arrives. However we do go to a variety of restaurants. Abby loves it and gets really excited about going to a "est-a-rant". Charlie spent the first 3.5 months of his life in Great Ormond Street so Abby got used to eating out in London on a regular basis. Sometimes she behaved perfectly and other times it was more of a struggle. They're not machines, you can't make them perfect every time. I bring crayons and paper but sometimes she's not interested. If that's the case we take it in turns to walk her around outside until the food arrives. Now she's a bit older we do use "If you can't behave like a good girl then we won't go to restaurants again" because she does love it - maybe it's because she gets to have chips!
H xx
But I really hope that the odd happy toddler sippy cup bang on the table, and the odd shriek would be accepted at a lunch service.
I think an evening service is a little different, it does tend to be more adult oriented, but there has to be a time and place for children to learn and practice social skills. So I would hope that most adults would be patient and understanding.
But as someone has said there is a difference between age appropriate behavior and bad behavior.
I try to take mine out (aged 7,5,3,15 months) a couple times a month. Having them well rested and well exercised seem to be the best prep work I can do.
I think the cafes in those soft play places are perfect for this. They're full of totally over excited kids that make your's look perfect and everyone is struggling with their kids so don't mind about the disruption.
You can reward him with a nice play when he's been good and then venture out to nicer places when he's got the hang of it.
Good luck!
Mrs B xxx