Eating out? Do you do it still?

[rachdent]

Hi girls

I ate out with my dh and our delightful 11mth old son on the weekend and it was awful. So, I've decided to write an article about eating out with babies and toddlers.

If any of you have any tips that I could include in my article, I would be extremely grateful.

Ta,
RACH!

[Elfin]

With 3 children 6 and under we don't eat out much anymore except the very occasional maccas. When I have eaten out with them, most restaurants are more than happy to bring the children's meals straight away which helps a lot.

However, what we tend to do instead is ask the restaurants we like to do a take away which they are more than happy to do so we get to eat a really nice meal at home which is a lot more peaceful.

[melzy]

going to places where they have all you can eat was great. Not pizza hut but places like Charlie's Diner in Adelaide. You would have a HUGE range of food from roasts, pizza, spagetti, rice, salad, spring rolls, fruit, assort veggies, icecream and jelly. It was great as it was affordable and you could give you child as much as they want. They could experience their likes and dislikes with as many dishes as they wanted, and better still, you didn't have to cook or do the dishes. Yahoo :D

From experience I would also say ALWAYS strap your child in their highchair. We were at my nan's 80th luncheon with family and I was sure I strapped her in when suddenly, she leaned forward on the tray, that slid off, she banged her forehead on the table and fell headfirst to the floor. My heart dropped, she was hysterical and had the hugest lump on her head. Did I feel like a bad mother that day!!

[TwoBlue]

Pick a place that has a kids play area, ask for a table right next to the kids play area and let the kid play !!!

[aardvark]

We still eat out from time to time. Not as frequently as we used to, but still on average once per month at least.

We don't just frequent the places with playgrounds, or "family friendly" places, we try all sorts of restaurants, with a wide variety of cuisines. I try and avoid ordering from the children's (something greasy with chips) menu if there is something else worth ordering, especially an entree sized pasta, or I will order a side of vegetables, and share some of my main fish/meat/poultry with them.

We always take a box of pencils, a notepad and a colouring book. Sometimes places provide something, sometimes they don't. Generally the better restaurants don't.

My way of thinking is that by age 8, I knew how to set a table for a four course meal, and I knew what all the cutlery was for, and how to behave when out for a meal. The youngest one is 4, and she now looks forward to eating out at certain places, among them the restaurant at one of the big city Hotels.

I always order her meal to come out as soon as possible, so there is less time for her to get impatient. We also book very early in the evening, often as soon as they open for dinner so we can be there and gone before the bulk of the patrons arrive.

[draught]

We also go out for dinner with our two - for what my husband calls the "pensioner's special" - in at 6pm and out by 7pm. Sometimes if the restaurant opens at 5.30 we go then! We go to more child friendly places like steak restaurants attached to pubs, but also go to nice groovy cafes. I am with aardvark and also carry colouring pencils or crayons and paper, and also believe that they need to learn how to behave in a restaurant.

We also do brunch quite a bit - the other patrons are a bit more forgiving and the menu suits the kids well - toast, toast and more toast, with some fruit thrown in and bacon from our plates keeps them both happy. (of course with toddlers you are up so early that brunch for others is actually lunch for us!!)

We have had other patrons come and comment on how well behaved our girls are at both evening meals and brunches so that encourages us to keep going I guess. And we are always prepared that one of us might have to hold a baby while the other one eats, although as the baby is now 10months old she is happy to sit in a highchair and play with a bean or carrot stick while we eat so we both normally get a warm meal these days!

[bb]

At 4 months, our little man is still pretty portable - he just gets dragged wherever we go ! We do have a comfortable pram, and he sleeps in it without a problem. We do make sure that we only go to restaurants that are pram friendly, and we also acknowledge that one of us may have to "walk and jiggle" with the pram, if Hamish is unsettled.

One of my dearest friends has a 6 year old boy, and has never allowed his presence in their life to stop her going out and having a good time. I think, because her little chap is totally used to going out, he is fine - and always has been. Actually, I have always been impressed with how magnificently behaved her boy is. She always makes sure he has plenty to do (cars, colouring pencils, discman, and more recently ... Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). She is also great at outlining for him exactly what her expectations of his behavious are. I can clearly remember, his sitting in a pusher, at about 2 years old, and being perfect during a long ... long chatty lunch. It should be noted that she has always told him that she the "grumpy lady" (who would be a random person in the restaurant) would be very cross with him if he misbehaved. He was constantly making sure that the "grumpy lady" saw that he was being good. At 6 years old, he is still aware of the "grumpy lady". Quite funny really !!

Of course, my husband and I go out far less than we did before Hamish came along, but it is more a matter of effort than anything else. Sometimes the mere thought of getting ourselves up and going with a little man, is just too much !

Best of luck collecting these tales !

BB

[Peaceangels]

Some really good points have already been made, and although the thought of taking kids out for dinner can be a little daunting, it can actually be quite enjoyable for all if you plan ahead.
* We go to child friendly places (places with a play area etc) or hotels, we found a local hotel that has lots of large aquariums and the kids love watching the fish.
* Order kids dinner on arrival, then when adults order their dinner order dessert for the kids so they can sit momentarily while you eat some (or hopefully all of) of yr dinner.
* take extra snacks in case kids get hungry before food arrives.
* Arrival at 530pm gets you the best choice of table and more room for the kids to run-amok.
* Be ready to leave at any time, in case all hell breaks lose!
* Smorgasboards are great as it is "instant" food, no waiting (there are some nice ones around).
Good luck with the article!Let us know how go .................

[Nickster]

Elizabeth is only 8 months old, so we haven't really gone out much until the past couple of months. We have mainly had take-aways up until now, but have been a little more adventurous recently (?). Because her bedtime is around 7pm we try to get in and out of restaurants pretty early - I like the term "pensioner's special"!!
We mainly go to nice pubs or steak restaurants where we can feel comfortable with a baby. We try to take her stroller in, as it's easy to have the nappy bag, dummies, blankies, etc at hand, although I'm sure she'd be fine in a highchair, I know that if she gets too tired, I can lay her back and put a dummy in!
Having said that, she loves sitting up with us, and is happy to put her chubby fist out for bread, etc from our plates. :D She can get a little grizzly, so we often tag-team it with eating and holding her!
BUT at least we feel half human knowing we can go out if we want!!
Oh, and we also never have entrees, as we like to order our meals almost immediately to speed the whole process up. I sometimes order a dessert to take-away and have at my leisure after she's gone down for the night! :D

[Harmony83]

We haven't mastered the art of eating out yet. When Brayden starts to get tired he can get real cranky and scream the house down! We went to KFC a couple weeks ago for lunch and bubs decided he was sleepy and started screaming, so we grabbed the food and made a dash to the car... We'll just have to wait till his a little older.

[kaydensmum]

we also haven't ventured out much except to friends houses for dinner. we went to sofia's at wheelers hill once and it was disastrous. it was so big and noisy, kayden would not have a breasf feed and he started to get really grissly about 7.30pm (his sleep time) and no amount of settling would help. to make matters worse he woke 5 times that night so i was like a zombie the next day - it was so much easier when he was born till about 6 mths. i guess that experience really put me off but ime keen to try it again (my hubby will b so thrilled) and reading the previous posts, there r heaps of great suggestions. i particularly like the thought of going early so am all keen to try this weekend :eek:

Carole.

[ThomasMum]

We took Thomas for dinners/lunchs couple of times. When we booked the place we told them that we have bub, and we always make sure that the restaurant has no-smoking policy. So far he slept thru @ every occasions.
We are going out for dinner to celebrate Father's Day, it will be interesting to find out how he goes because he's much older then!

Wish us luck! :D

And good luck with the article!

[Supermum]

I thought I'd check this out as well as we've never been able to take our kids out for lunch or dinner. My spirited son is 2½ & my daughter 15 months. Not only do public places put No. 1 into sensory overload (daughter is ok with this part of it) but their routine is strict and self-imposed. If they aren't in their own beds by a certain time of the day or night it's on for young and old ... and since my daughter goes to bed at 6 ... every night - there's no dinner's for us.

I have always envied those of you who can take your kids out ... and quite often looked longingly at the mums whose bubs would quietly sit in prams while mum had coffee with her friends at the local shopping centre .. or the parents who could take their children to a child-friendly restaurant for a meal.

I think it's worthy of note that not all children have the kind of temperament you can share with the public (it's not about good or bad parenting) for we have tried many, many times to take our son (implementing all the methods previously listed .. games, puzzles, snacks just in case the food takes a while) out and failed each and every time. We try every 3 months or so and will continue to try!

[Kamaikia]

I have found one thing that bothers me about eating out. I absolutly hate when they bring the childrens meals out early. By the time the parents get there meals the kids aren't sitting still they are going crazy. When taking my sisters children out we always ask for there food to come at the same time.
My son is 10 months and is fine to take out. I have found feeding him of my plate helps. Having said that though my son is happy to be out at night - 2 nights a weeks I have him at sport with me and we do a family (extended family) dinner about once every two weeks. He is quite happy to socialise with people. Don't give in either - if they want to get out and run don't let them. Maybe they will be terrors those first few time but they learn pretty quick to sit at the table and use there manners.

[draught]

I have just re-read my earlier post and realised that it sounds like my girls are saints who behave themselves all the time when we are out. Fortunately my girls are actually not perfect (how tiresome would that be?) and therefore unfortunately do behave terribly on occasion. We have had some shockers at cafes or restaurants where DD1 has screamed and thrown a tantrum etc and had to be removed from the building - the compliments I am talking about are where you have been spending the whole meal getting them to sit still, not run around, eat some food, not eat the flowers, etc and some nice old person comes over and tells you that they are well behaved - so we realise that we haven't ruined everyone else's meal after all and try again! (if that makes sense!)

[Peaceangels]

I was thinking about my earlier post since I wrote it (which actually makes it sound like a weekly event that is nice memorable experience - Lol)
I must add that we only do this about once every three or four months and most times it is for a family members birthday etc. (you can relax about the kids behaviour around family and there is safety in numbers!).
My kids idolise their older cousins, so having other kids there makes it a little easier (they entertain each other for the most part).
We take turns with one or two adults constantly supervising the brood (while the others can have nice adult conversations).
Having said all that, there have been times when we have had to make a quick exit - overtiredness or sickness, but when you haven't ventured out much, it is nice just to be OUT.
Don't you just love those looks from people without kids thinking to themselves "can't you just control those naughty children"................

[rachdent]

Hi everyone

Just wanted to say thanks heaps for all your help. Your tips are brilliant!

Cheers
RACH!

[kaydensmum]

Well we did it - ate out as a family for the first time. We've been out before but just not the 3 of us. We went to La Porcetta & made sure we got there just after 5.30 - the staff were very friendly & helpful, heating up Kaydens food without any problem. Our food came out just as he had started eating so by the time he had finished (we made sure it was a drawn out process) we weren't far behind. We thought in a few weeks we would try Taco Bill :D .
Now that i think back, I don't know why we didn't do it sooner, though its probably easier with Kayden being just that little bit older.

Carole.

[schmell]

I was worried about eating out with bub but DP and I decided that we would just continue our once a week treat of eating out as if nothing had changed. Now DD1 can be taken anywhere and sits at the table with us and knows that she can't run around or harrass the other patrons. DD2 is still at the sleeping through stage but we haven't missed a Wednesday night treat night in nearly 3 years so hopefully she is as good as her sister as she gets older. I believe that because we took DD1 out with us from a very early age she is just used to it and I think she enjoys it too.

The only thing I try to make sure of is that she has a good sleep that day (I have even tried keeping her up for an extra hour or so through the day so she has a sleep later in the afternoon) so she is not too grumpy by the end of the meal and we don't have to rush out because she starts 'acting like a 2 year old' :D

Good Luck.

[Supermum]

Reading all of these responses just makes me want to say bite me :D .

It wouldn't matter if my son had more sleep than the unknown warrior or had eaten before we left or had games to play with - where there's people ... there's fire!

[aardvark]

We took the 4y.o to afternoon tea at one of the big city hotels on Saturday with family.

She behaved remarkably well, sat in her seat unless she was going up to the buffet with her dad or myself, and ploughed through finger sandwiches, scones and chocolate mousses. She even used her serviette instead of her dress for finger wiping, which is highly unusual for her. We took the pencil box and a pad of plain paper with us, that was all she had to occupy herself, apart from making conversation with adults.

She's not usually a child who can sit still for very long, but she enjoys eating out, especially at buffets where she can choose what she wants, and knows that if she does not behave, we'll get a baby sitter, and go without her.

[schmell]

Reading all of these responses just makes me want to say bite me :D .

It wouldn't matter if my son had more sleep than the unknown warrior or had eaten before we left or had games to play with - where there's people ... there's fire!

MUNCH...LOL :D

Don't get me wrong, sometimes no matter how much planning goes into it, the little monster sometimes (thankfully not often) decides to leave the better behaved part of herself at home!! It is these times that I think maybe eating out is not worth the trouble but it just means we have a shorter meal and go home as quickly as possible where surprise, surprise the angel wings and halo fall right back into place.....LOL

[Supermum]

Thanks Schmell! I sound like a jaded old cow don't I?

Seriously though, some days I look at my son and wonder where all the 'tude came from. And some days I just get a little tired of warning people before we turn up and then having to apologise on the way out.:o

[LucyE]

Since DS's arrival, we haven't changed our habits too much. We go out for breakfast on weekends, meet DH for lunch once a week, and go out for dinner about once a week on average. We go to laid back cafes and fancy restaurants but as food snobs we usually avoid anything termed 'family friendly'.

While DS was really young, he would usually be happy to sleep in his pram during our meal. Usually the walk from the parking spot to the restaurant would send him to sleep. I'd then make sure the hood of the pram was over him and even drape a muslin wrap over the rest of it to help block out the noise/light.

As he got older and was sitting up, we purchased a HandySitt (www.danishbydesign.com.au) which fits over most chairs and just lives in the boot of our car. DS loves being at the table and a part of the action. I would always take my own food for him and made sure there was plenty of variety because you never know what he 'feels' like eating.

Then he became mobile and wanted to explore. So, now once we arrive, DS will sit in his seat for a little while checking the place/people out and I read the menu. After we've ordered, I'll (or DH) will take DS for a walk. We sometimes leave him on the ground so long as he stays near our table and doesn't stray off. Once our food arrives, Ds goes back into his HandySitt and we all eat together. I still pack some food for him from home but also offer him a bit of what we're eating if it's appropriate. Usually, inbetween courses we let him get out of his seat because I think it's unrealistic to expect a toddler to sit in the one spot for X number of hours that we adults like to take over a nice meal. I also have a set of small toys that lives in my nappy bag for outings only.

I think the most important thing is planning. I time our outings with his sleep. If I know we are going out at a certain time, I either delay a nap or try and get him to have an extra one. DH complains that we don't do anything spontaneous anymore but I should remind him that his lucky we still go out! :p The other thing is to stay calm. If you're stressed, bub will pick up on that and act out accordingly.

Now, this isn't to say that we haven't had our share of dramas either. We've had to leave a restaurant before our meal was served because DS just wasn't settling and we didn't want to disturb the other diners. We got it to go and made a mad dash home.

Don't you just love those looks from people without kids thinking to themselves "can't you just control those naughty children"................
I admit to do this sometimes :( I don't think it's fair that other patrons are put out by unruly children because they are there for a good night out too. I don't mean 'normal' behaviour you'd expect from a child, but those real horror story types where the children are left to run riot thoughout the restaurant, or left to scream/cry with an 'oh, she'll settle down soon when she's tired'.

[rynosmum]

We've taken our little boy out pretty much everywhere since he was born (he's 15 months old now). Granted, we've had many different experiences dependent upon the type of restaurant and his age and mood but on the whole, it's been pretty positive.

We also do breakfast out every weekend at different cafe's and probably a night every fortnight - in fact, our experiences are almost identical to LucyE. Now that he's more mobile, his desire to sit still is much more short-term. We also have a Handysitt due to a few bad experiences with older flimsy highchairs - mostly at the more expensive restaurants surprisingly.

Many places are quite helpful when you have a little one - some are completely oblivious - there have been many times when I have 'gently' had to suggest that the staff do NOT serve coffees or food over the top of our son.

I also have a few special toys just for special outings and even take along plastic bowls so I can give him some of my meal which he really enjoys. I also pack some of his own food and some treats - dried fruit, museli bars etc which keep him occupied.

It's important to be conscious of other diners however most are pretty understanding to a happy talking bub. We have had to leave a couple of places during our main meal due to him not being able to settle but this is certainly not the norm.

Good luck ! I think it's great for little ones to get the socialising experience - they seem to enjoy the change in food and scenery as much as us !

[SMBT]

Hi All,

We have done the odd dining out experience with our toddler and just recently our bub. We firstly went to a tavern when Bailey was 16 months. He wouldn't sit still at all and at that stage he wouldn't sit in a high chair either, so I couldn't strap him in. I did try to and it backfired bigtime as he squealed at the top of his lungs until I took him out and then he started throwing his bottle on the floor and across the table. It was a huge ordeal! :mad: We tried again when he was 18 months. That time we took him to Sizzler for a big family birthday dinner. Another disaster. Wouldn't sit on the chair, kept running around the restaurant and spitting food out everywhere. We went home early and told everyone to come back to our house for the cake and coffee. :eek:

Now he is a gem at 2 years 3 months. We can go out and he will sit and eat, although we distract him with toys and pens and paper and we usually bribe him with a bowl of ice cream to eat properly. As soon as we are all finished it is time to leave because he starts to get restless if we are just sitting there.

Tried to go out approx 2 months ago with our little bub (4 months). She screamed the entire time and I had to eat dinner outside while everyone else enjoyed there dinner inside. Don't ask!

It just seems like a big ordeal and we prefer to keep to our own dining room table. Even when we go to our parents house, Bailey challenges us because he doesn't want to sit at the table, he prefers to play in the lounge room but that means no dinner, because he won't touch it. At home both kids are angels at dinner time, as Bailey sits with us and eats and if he doesn't want anymore he will play on the floor next to the dinner table. Tyllee sleeps the whole time (bliss!) At least I can enjoy my dinner.
:)
BUT WE HAVE DINNER REALLY EARLY.....AROUND 5PM EVERYDAY! More settled time and not tired.

[Mamaduke]

We have two boys, aged 4 years, and 16 months, so eating out is quite a dreaded event...so's eating in sometimes!
We have found a great pizza restaurant in Wantirna, Melbourne. We go in early, to beat the crowds, and they have a little lounge section where DH and the boys go and play the pinball machines - all for free!!!! I then order our food and sit back and watch the music channel on Foxtel!!! It's quite lovely considering all I watch at home is bloody Nick Jr! The meals are big servings and reasonably priced, and they even have a children's size pizza which comes out on a frisbee that you then take home. What I can't stand is places which have playgrounds and the playground is full of coin operated games - all you see is kids coming out pestering their parents for coins. Another good one is restaurants who put butcher's paper out on the table and have a box of crayons for the kids - it entertains all of us until dinner arrives.
Carly
P.S. I remember when I was a child and going out to dinner meant you had to sit quietly at the table, eat your dinner, and if you were good, you got to go and have a look at the fish tank! Where have all the fish tanks gone?

[Chickadee]

We have been going out to eat with Chloe more and more recently. She turns 2 this week. Now she's generally a happy well behaved kid anyways so we don't have too much trouble. And I'm finding the more I take her out the easier it gets. But I guess also I don't try to enforce rules on her that we don't use at home. So at home, she's allowed to eat with her fingers still if she wants (even yogurt :rolleyes: ) so long as she doesn't flick it around or paint with it. And so I don't force her to use only a spoon or fork at a restaurant. Today we went for lunch and she ate my fettucine carbonara with her fingers. Very messy, both her and I needed a change of clothes after (she insisted on sitting on my lap) but she ate, we were happy, and the mess was confined to us and not the table, floor or other customers.

I do try to pick a table where she can get down from her chair while we wait to be served and not end up in anyone's way. Today she stood and waved out the window at the passerbys. I don't make her sit in her chair and wait for her dinner at home, so don't make her do it when we're out. And I'd forgotten to bring crayons and paper for her. Silly forgetful mum. :p

[Fraggle]

We decided when I was pregnant with Thomas that we would not live our lives around Thomas, but fit him into our life. Consequently, we have been going out ever since the first day out of hospital (went straight to the shops from hospital, scar and all - have to admit I was waddling funny though lol).

Thomas did sleep through a lot in the early days. But now he is 9 m/o, as long as he is up at the table with us, he is fine - he just wants to be part of the action (he is also a very big attention seeker and turns on the smiles & charm if anyone dare look his way). The best thing I did was to buy the "First Years On the Go Booster Seat" which fits on most backed chairs. It is self inflatable and very compact and you can make it any height. I bought it from K-Mart when it was on special a few weeks ago for $39.99, but normally they're $49.99 - a small price to pay for a bit of peace.

I also agree with the other suggestions of having food, toys etc on hand for a distraction. And I have the push chair close by for when he gets too tired to sit at the table any more. We often don't leave until 7pm for dinner and are lucky if we are home by midnght. Thomas and I also go out to lunch min 3 times a week - he just loves picnics.

One thing in his early days that I found was good, was even though I was breastfeeding at the time, when out at the restaurant I would give him formula which would make him sleep a lot sounder. I also found he didn't like to breast feed in public - too much going on, nosey little busy body he is.

The more you do it, the better you get I've found - it also helps to not get stressed (hard I know when they are chanllenging your patience).

So I've finished writing my novel now LOL, good luck.