How to Make Dining With Kids in a Restaurant Easy
Dining with kids who haven't yet grasped the concept of eating out can be wildly frustrating and stressful.
You can actually find yourself in a terrible situation by not planning beforehand and reacting negatively to people around you who don't appreciate your screaming toddler ruining their meal.
You don't have to keep pulling your hairs out of your head when you consider dining with kids in your favorite restaurant anymore, if you follow these time-tested, proven tips: 1.
Choose a very family-friendly, healthy fast food place such as Wendy's so your child can be exposed to what it's like to eat out, away from the comfort of their own home.
Whether or not Wendy's is healthy is debatable, but the trick here is to introduce dining away from home at a restaurant you feel comfortable with when your child gets a little out of hand.
2.
Once they're used to eating out, it's time to take them to your favorite family breakfast place like IHOP so they can begin to see and feel what it's like to have a server take your order as well as the process of the server bringing food to the table.
3.
Make sure, when you go to a restaurant with waiter service, to bring items to occupy your child's mind and time! Bring a couple of books (Curious George books work wonders for my toddler), a handful of quiet toys, and some snacks to keep your child occupied, especially if the food is taking too long to be served.
4.
Don't react negatively once your child starts to misbehave.
Speak in a normal tone and tell your child his or her behavior is inappropriate and won't be tolerated.
5.
If your child doesn't stop misbehaving within a reasonable amount of time (approx.
2 minutes or so), quietly and sternly inform them you're going to have to take them outside the restaurant until they choose to behave appropriately.
If you have to take them outside, do so for a good 5 minutes (yeah I know, your eggs are getting cold!) so they can begin to remember the consequences in the future for misbehavior at a restaurant.
6.
When they behave well, be sure to praise them! The most important thing to remember when dining with kids in a restaurant is that they are still going through the learning process of what it feels like to eat away from the comfort of their luxury high chair in their favorite place - HOME! The more you eat out, the more comfortable and well-behaving your child will eventually be, as long as you apply these principles.
You can actually find yourself in a terrible situation by not planning beforehand and reacting negatively to people around you who don't appreciate your screaming toddler ruining their meal.
You don't have to keep pulling your hairs out of your head when you consider dining with kids in your favorite restaurant anymore, if you follow these time-tested, proven tips: 1.
Choose a very family-friendly, healthy fast food place such as Wendy's so your child can be exposed to what it's like to eat out, away from the comfort of their own home.
Whether or not Wendy's is healthy is debatable, but the trick here is to introduce dining away from home at a restaurant you feel comfortable with when your child gets a little out of hand.
2.
Once they're used to eating out, it's time to take them to your favorite family breakfast place like IHOP so they can begin to see and feel what it's like to have a server take your order as well as the process of the server bringing food to the table.
3.
Make sure, when you go to a restaurant with waiter service, to bring items to occupy your child's mind and time! Bring a couple of books (Curious George books work wonders for my toddler), a handful of quiet toys, and some snacks to keep your child occupied, especially if the food is taking too long to be served.
4.
Don't react negatively once your child starts to misbehave.
Speak in a normal tone and tell your child his or her behavior is inappropriate and won't be tolerated.
5.
If your child doesn't stop misbehaving within a reasonable amount of time (approx.
2 minutes or so), quietly and sternly inform them you're going to have to take them outside the restaurant until they choose to behave appropriately.
If you have to take them outside, do so for a good 5 minutes (yeah I know, your eggs are getting cold!) so they can begin to remember the consequences in the future for misbehavior at a restaurant.
6.
When they behave well, be sure to praise them! The most important thing to remember when dining with kids in a restaurant is that they are still going through the learning process of what it feels like to eat away from the comfort of their luxury high chair in their favorite place - HOME! The more you eat out, the more comfortable and well-behaving your child will eventually be, as long as you apply these principles.