When did you start taking your kids out to eat?

[SB621]

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!

Oh my gosh Skippy I just showed my husband that graphic and we both laughed out loud. Just like the 7 stages of mourning we always say we have the 7 stages of taking our kids out to eat! That really hit the nail on the head!

I think I should have reworded my question better. I didn't really mean what age you took your kid out to his or her first restaurant. I'm pretty sure at some point we all took our tiney tiny babies in their buckets seats someplace when they were XX days or weeks old. I think my DS we took out for Thai when he was 4 days and my DD did the Olive garden at 1 week I really meant when did you start taking them to restaurants and not feel that you had to revolve every second around them and actually enjoy your meal and time spent with them vs. pushing some sparkley object in front of them to hold their attention. I'm guessing my answer is probably around 5 or 6 when a child is really independant enough to not need any help. Looks like I have a few more years to go....oh well at least now they still love kisses and huges

 

[MichelleCarmen]

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!

Oh my gosh Skippy I just showed my husband that graphic and we both laughed out loud. Just like the 7 stages of mourning we always say we have the 7 stages of taking our kids out to eat! That really hit the nail on the head!

I think I should have reworded my question better. I didn't really mean what age you took your kid out to his or her first restaurant. I'm pretty sure at some point we all took our tiney tiny babies in their buckets seats someplace when they were XX days or weeks old. I think my DS we took out for Thai when he was 4 days and my DD did the Olive garden at 1 week I really meant when did you start taking them to restaurants and not feel that you had to revolve every second around them and actually enjoy your meal and time spent with them vs. pushing some sparkley object in front of them to hold their attention. I'm guessing my answer is probably around 5 or 6 when a child is really independant enough to not need any help. Looks like I have a few more years to go....oh well at least now they still love kisses and huges

I'm not sure when we could quietly sit through a meal. Mine are 11 and 13 and still sometimes do silly things like my son tried to drink ketchup out of a straw the other day. GENERALLY, we can make it through most restaurant meals without any problems because my younger son loves to eat out and doesn't want to mess up that privilege, but still, sometimes they still act like kids! I don't have to worry when we go to eat though, but the occasional reminder probably will happen till their 18.

 

[monarch64]

I saw a great quote recently that really put things in perspective for me: "You are raising a human being, not managing an inconvenience." I just don't expect to have a relaxing time when we're eating out with our child. I expect it to be work and a learning opportunity for all of us, especially her of course. It is easy to become exasperated and feel like the tough years are never going to end, that you will never be able to just enjoy a nice dinner together, etc. If I want a relaxing dinner with my husband, we get a sitter or we order takeout after the little one is in bed.

My brother and SIL took my niece out to dinner all the time from very early on and continued to do so throughout her first year, toddler years, etc. They were remodeling their kitchen the year she was born and that's basically how it started--out of necessity! My niece is understandably well-behaved and well-mannered in public because of the early and consistent exposure.

 

[Haven]

I saw a great quote recently that really put things in perspective for me: "You are raising a human being, not managing an inconvenience." I just don't expect to have a relaxing time when we're eating out with our child. I expect it to be work and a learning opportunity for all of us, especially her of course. It is easy to become exasperated and feel like the tough years are never going to end, that you will never be able to just enjoy a nice dinner together, etc. If I want a relaxing dinner with my husband, we get a sitter or we order takeout after the little one is in bed.

My brother and SIL took my niece out to dinner all the time from very early on and continued to do so throughout her first year, toddler years, etc. They were remodeling their kitchen the year she was born and that's basically how it started--out of necessity! My niece is understandably well-behaved and well-mannered in public because of the early and consistent exposure.

I love this!

My son is 15 months old and we've been taking him out to eat since he was about five weeks old, I'd say. Now that he is walking and very curious it isn't as easy as it was when he was a tiny squish, that's for sure!

I have been going to a parent/infant class at a Montessori school with him since he was very small, and we followed the Montessori approach to introducing table foods--which is to have him sit at a "weaning table" and chair rather than in a high chair, and to use real dishes and child-sized flatware--and I think the school environment and the weaning table and chair have helped immensely with taking him out to eat in public. He has been watching children eat at tables for a while now, and doing the same himself, and I have to credit his behavior when we're out to that.

All of that being said, I have no idea how we'd handle TWO toddlers out for a meal! (Or at all, for that matter. ) And we only go to family-friendly, loud places, as well. In fact, we often frequent restaurants for their "kids eat free" days so they are very loud environments with many children running around. Easier to blend in, then.

 

[monarch64]

Haven, I am actually thinking about painting that quote on a wall in our house. If I paint it on a canvas I might be driven to fling it out the window during one of those inconvenient times.

 

[packrat]

We go to loud places too. One of the songs that, strangely enough, calmed Trapper down when we was an infant was The Devil Went Down to Georgia by Charlie Daniels Band. Texas Roadhouse plays that like every 15 minutes. I can eat my onion blossom in peace.

Hu Hot is fun b/c they flip the food around and are chopping and dicing in front of you and the kids get a big kick out of that. Buffets are great.

If it's playing classical music and there's no crayons or placemats to draw/color on, candles on the tables and such, we're not there. Shoot, I probably don't want to be there myself...I like to color.

 

[iLander]

My son, as a toddler, was AWFUL when we ate out.

I don't know wether it was all the mouths chewing, or what, but he would sit for about 2 minutes then start screaming and trying to go under the table. We couldn't even go out on "Easy Going Deaf People's Night". We left many restaurants, many times.

We gave up and didn't really eat out with him until he was about 6.

Now he's a "foodie" and quietly eats at fancy places with his wife.

 

[momhappy]

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!

Oh my gosh Skippy I just showed my husband that graphic and we both laughed out loud. Just like the 7 stages of mourning we always say we have the 7 stages of taking our kids out to eat! That really hit the nail on the head!

I think I should have reworded my question better. I didn't really mean what age you took your kid out to his or her first restaurant. I'm pretty sure at some point we all took our tiney tiny babies in their buckets seats someplace when they were XX days or weeks old. I think my DS we took out for Thai when he was 4 days and my DD did the Olive garden at 1 week I really meant when did you start taking them to restaurants and not feel that you had to revolve every second around them and actually enjoy your meal and time spent with them vs. pushing some sparkley object in front of them to hold their attention. I'm guessing my answer is probably around 5 or 6 when a child is really independant enough to not need any help. Looks like I have a few more years to go....oh well at least now they still love kisses and huges

There is no magic age. The key, as someone else mentioned, is repeated exposure and consistency. If a child goes to a restaurant over and over again (and knows that it's not okay to run, yell, and act like a crazy person), then after a while, they quit running, yelling, and acting like crazy people. I don't think that you should expect to just reach a certain age where they will suddenly behave in public - you actually have to teach them how to behave in public.

 

[kenny]

Any toddler of mine would be sitting quietly and composing brilliant piano concertos, or differentiating equations leading to a cure for all cancer.

 

[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.

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!

To be honest, as long as a family/couple isn't bothering me (with things like unruly children, loud cell phone talking, etc.), then I really don't care what's going on at their table. They can FB or IPad all they want to as long as I get to enjoy the meals that Im paying for.