I Get Around (in a restaurant)
This post is going to be the first in a series of posts I do called, “I Get Around,” where I’ll share practical tips for how we navigate different situations with two kids. At the top of that list is getting through a restaurant meal with a toddler and an infant. Eating out with one baby is hard enough, but eating out with two of them brings all new challenges. To be honest, it’s hardly ever a fun time when we go out to eat with the kids. We do it for all kinds of reasons – to be with friends and family, to expose the kids to situations, to practice manners, or simply because we’re out on the go.
There’s a great window when babies are still newborns when going out to eat can be enjoyable. They’re too little to be awake for long and they don’t really care where they are or what’s going on around them. Perfect conditions for eating out! I wish we’d done more of it when Bean was a newborn, actually.
Now, with two kids, eating out is hit or miss. Sometimes it works great and other times neither Chris or I get to eat a bite of food. Its really about trial and error and having the confidence to try, try, try again when things don’t go so well the first time. In our adventures into restaurant eating, here are a few tips we’ve discovered that have helped us have more successful meals:
– Plan your meals around the happiest time for your kids. You might have to eat a little earlier than normal people (blue plate specials are not just for seniors, my friends…), but you have the best chance of success when your kids are in the best moods. For us, we’ve found early meals around 5:00 or 6:00 are optimum times for dinner because the kids aren’t quite at their breaking point yet and we can still get home in time for bedtime.
– Bring toys and entertainment for your kids, no matter what their age. Even little babies need sometimes to focus on or else they get fidgety. When we started out, we brought little hand toys and teethers for the kids. Now, Gracie is seven months old and is to the point where she gets bored easily. I’ve found that what keeps her the most entertained these days are new things that she doesn’t see too often, so I give her things from the restaurant. Last weekend, she waved and banged around with a spoon for half an hour, happy as a pig. For Bean, he’s pretty much seen it all in the restaurants, so what keeps him entertained are activities that engage him. Usually, I bring books or things to color for him. Even still though, be prepared to spend the majority of your meal interacting with your child. Nothing entertains kids more than people and aren’t mealtimes all about a chance to interact with each other? So, color with them or draw their hand prints (that’s Bean’s favorite), play “I Spy,” point out colors, letters, and numbers on the menu.
– Order your child’s meal when you order your drinks. We try to get Bean’s food as soon as possible. It keeps him entertained and busy and allows us to focus on helping him eat before our own food arrives. Most waiters completely understand and are appreciative of anything you do to keep your child content and happy.
– DON’T TAKE THEM OUT OF THEIR SEAT! We have found that if we take Bean or Gracie out of their highchairs or boosters, it is hard to get them to go back in. This one is much easier to do when it’s just the four of us eating together. In larger groups of family and friends, everyone wants to hold the baby or walk around with Bean, but Chris and I know that that actually makes things much worse. Plus, you’re teaching them about restaurant behavior and they need to learn (especially when they are toddlers) that we sit in our seats when we eat a meal.
– Bring your own utensils from home for your toddler. One of the staples in my diaper bag is a Ziplock with a bib, a fork, and a spoon for Bean. That baggie stays permanently in the bottom of my diaper bag so that we are always prepared when we go out to eat. Then, when he finishes, I put the dirty silverware back into the Ziplock and it keeps my diaper bag neat and clean. I also usually have an empty sippy cup in my diaper bag to fill whenever we get somewhere. If you want or need to bring a sippy cup in the car with a drink in it before the meal, try bringing water. It’s easy to add to when you get to the restaurant and you don’t have to run to the bathroom to empty out a sippy cup of milk when you order apple juice at the restaurant.
– As soon as your baby is able to sit up on their own, get a shopping cart cover. Not only does it help in the grocery store, but you can put it in a high chair in a restaurant and it keeps your baby in a clean, cozy seat. Plus, if your baby is just starting to sit up on their own, those slippery wooden high chairs can be tricky. Having that shopping cart cover in them gives them a little traction and helps them balance.
– Eat quickly! Even on the best nights out to eat with our kids, we have a very small window of happiness before one or both of them start to get fussy, fidgety, or just plain loud. In fact, Chris and I are in such a habit of sitting down, spot-picking off the menu, ordering quickly, and eating even faster, that when we go out to dinner with just the two of us, we end up eating in 20 minutes and then not knowing what to do with ourselves for the next few hours we have the sitter! Old habits die hard, I guess. With kids, we’re working on their schedule and they live in about 15 to 20 minutes intervals before they are ready to move on to the next activity, so eating is fast and furious. Save the leisurely meals for date nights!
These are just a few of the ideas and tips that we’ve found over the past two years with little ones. What about you guys? Do you have any sure-fire tricks for keeping restaurant meals happy? Do tell because we’re always looking for more parenting secrets!
21 Comments
Christina
Love it!!! I am a newlywed and while we don’t have our own kids yet, I am a nanny for 3 under 4 yrs old with another on the way! These are very useful tips 🙂 thanks! LOVE YOUR BLOG!
Mandy Pressel
We bring Playdoh to restaurants. It keeps them entertained and is cheap.
Mariya
I wish I read this before this weekend. Thanks for the tips!
jenny-bird
I think “I get around” is a great addition to your blog. Reading your blog now, I feel so ready to have kids. (Yeah, I know. Ask me again when I’m holding my future crying child in one arm and desperately searching for an old article on your blog with my other hand. Should’a bookmarked it…)
Laura @ Casa del Hansen
Great pointers – and what a great idea for a series. I know some people get cranky when people have kids in restaurants, but I’m so happy when parents do it (even though they do look a bit harried) and teach their kids important skills on how to behave while there. It’s so much worse when it’s only a “special occasion or never” type of thing! Quick question, though: do you try to vary the type of restaurant you go to, or do you try to stay with the classic “family restaurants?”
Rachel @ The Ongoing Planner
I am right there with jenny-bird! At least more prepared. Glad I still have a another year and a half or so until the first one arrives, but you make me very excited for all the adventures.
Melissa W.
Great ideas Katie! One new thing I recently discovered- there are these things called “Grab N Go” Packs- they have a little coloring book, crayons and a sticker sheet in the ziploc type bag- they r cheap too- got one @ target this weekend in their dollar section (Cars, Toy Story, etc.) and I save those for eating out only… keep it in my 17 mo. old’s diaper bag (older son is 3, so I don’t really carry a bag around for him all the time) he LOVES the stickers… good entertainment!
Nate's Mom @ Nate is Great
AWESOME blog post, Katie! We’ve found many of the same tricks, especially the “please bring my son’s meal out as soon as it’s ready” one. Our newest entertainment is watercolors. Nate LOVES watercolors. We throw an 8 pack palate in a ziplock baggie with a brush, a bunch of plain paper, and a sticker book (they sell them at Michael’s or AC Moore’s for $1 each and they have about 300 – 600 stickers in each, depending on the book) and we have entertainment for a meal. We’ve been able to have normal conversation as Nate paints away. 🙂 We also ate at Bertucci’s the other night where the kid “gift” was a ball of pizza dough. Brilliant idea and we’re now thinking of adding a can of play doh to the bag. When Nate was Gracie’s age, we had a suction cup ferris wheel toy – it was bright and had horribly annoying music but he LOVED it. Oh! It’s this one: http://www.amazon.com/Sassy-Sensation-Station-Suction-Toy/dp/B002J4U8KW It really stuck to the table well so he could play independently at a restaurant or in his high chair at home. (It also comes out of the suction cup holder.)
Alyssa
My vote? Get a babysitter or do takeout! HAHAHAHAHA!! 🙂 🙂
Jenna@CallHerHappy
Yup. My parents never let us out of our seats. My mom was a waitress when she was younger and always hated having to carry piping hot food when there were toddlers running around. I was also a waitress in college, and I second her opinion 🙂 I’ve heard of some places that let you call your order in before you get there, so when you sit down, your food is read to go. That may maximize your eating time?
Cindy
I agree with the above plus I recommend going to a restaurant that caters more to kids. When my daughter was tiny and liked to scream we would go to restaurants that were LOUD, like Texas Roadhouse or Buffalo Wild Wings because we wouldn’t want to disturb other people while they were trying to eat.
Mommy, Esq.
I have a bag of toys (ziplock) that I throw into my diaperbag for restaurant meals. I also bring a sippycup for my youngest (the preschools can use the straw cups). I completely agree about ordering first but I take it a step farther – we order ALL meals at the same time – right when we sit down. If it is a new restaurant we look up the menu online first. I had to laugh at the “don’t let them out” because it is SOO TRUE!! I spent one meal running around the restaurant after my 16 month old who kept screaming when we put her in her seat. I also ask for the check when they bring the meals and some takeout containers – just in case we need a speedy exit. Finally, I agree with Cindy – the key is chain restaurants who are okay with families.
Kathleen
Thanks! Good tip about ordering kids’ food right away. Why haven’t I thought of that? I am eagerly anticipating the next installment. And re: There’s a great window when babies are still newborns when going out to eat can be enjoyable. They’re too little to be awake for long and they don’t really care where they are or what’s going on around them. Perfect conditions for eating out! I wish we’d done more of it when Bean was a newborn, actually.
Preach it, sister! Can we all say amen? Wish I had heard that gospel when my kid was a newborn.
Jen @ Caved In
I don’t think I’ve been out to a restaurant after 7pm since we had Sullivan. On top of what you mentioned, we always bring an adhesive placemat for him. He likes to squish his food and I like knowing it’s at least somewhat clean when he shovels it in his mouth. this is a great post and I love reading the other comments for more ideas!
HollyT
We have 3 kiddoes, boys ages 6 and 2 1/2, and our newest, a girl age 2 mo. I always have Hot Wheels in the diaper bag to keep the older two occupied. They sit across the table from each other and roll the cars back and forth to each other. Play Doh is also a very good addition to the diaper bag. We’ve also let them take in a LeapFrog Leapster to keep them entertained if it’s somewhere we might be for a while. Someone mentioned the adhesive placemats and they are fabulous! Toys-R-Us has a reusable one with a tray that rinses off easily and is easy to pack. So far we’ve been fairly successful eating out with our boys, but I’m a little worried how it’s going to go once the girlie is a little bigger!
Rebecca @ The Reluctant Housewife
Katie, sometimes I don’t know how on earth you come up with these posts…but so many times I read them and I think, “Wow! I can TOTALLY relate to this!” But I would never think to write it. We’re just getting to that stage of Zoe being a hit or miss with eating out. Luckily, she doesn’t really get loud, it’s just that it’s so labor intensive to keep her entertained. We’ve found that it’s a whole lot easier when we’re eating out with our family…except for what you mentioned, that they like to take her out of her high chair…and in this house, that’s a “no-no”. I guess everything is about balance, and learning how to adjust…
JoHanna
@jenny-bird, when I had my daughter I remember searching for Katie’s blog posts for some situations! Even things that happen in my marriage sometimes. She has gotten me through some tough situations!
britt@knewlywifed
Bam! Right on! I know we thought we were ‘superstar’ parents those first few months with our son because he was so good in restuarants. Little did us rookies know it was typical at that age. Now, at the 1 month mark, its hard to get through the drinks without a fit!
Annette
My kids are 6 and 3, and years ago, I made restaurant packs for them. I put in small coloring books, stickers, cars, other age appropriate toys. I change them every year as they grow. I keep them near the door and the kids never get to play with the stuff inside unless we are at a restaurant, it works great. Usually I change out the toys before our yearly vacation, when we eat out A LOT. New toys keep them distracted.
Kat @ Living Like the Kings
I have never thought to put the shopping cart cover on the booster/high chair seat. You’re kidding me! That is the best advice. Seriously.
Jackie
We have two sons, three and four months and we’ve been taking them out to eat at least once per week since they were born (literally…week 1 with both was a quick trip to our local Mexican restaurant so we didn’t have to cook). I’ve found that starting them early and going often allows them to understand acceptable restaurant behavior at a young age. We employ similar tricks…bring toys, order food early if he’s really hungry, etc. Every trip hasn’t been perfect and weve had a few disasters but I’ve never not been able to eat my food or talk to my husband. My husband’s sister never took her kids out and they’re behavior is awful to this day (at 11 and 12!) but that’s not the only time they don’t behave so its also about your kids knowing your expectations no matter where you are/what you’re doing.