How does your 2 year old do in restaurants?

DevonPow

We eat out a lot - at least a few times a week - with DS. He has always done very, very well. Recently we started letting him sit in his own chair or in a booth with us instead of a high chair and he is much more challenging. He stays with us at the table, but is bouncing all around, stands up in the booth, goes under the table and then bounces back up, etc etc. He is still OK in terms of not being too loud, eating, not throwing, etc, but he is like a jumping bean and it is driving me NUTS. I feel like all we do is say "sit back down please, sit back down!"

My question is, are our expectations too much for him? Can most 2 year olds sit semi-still for a quick dinner out?

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DD acts the same if she's in a booster or own chair. It drives me crazy, so I usually still request a high chair.

debs1018

When my son, 3, isnt contained in a high chair he is al over the place, I think that it hard for them to sit too long. I dread the day he grows out of the high chair at the restaurants. He is just about pushing it now.

Rebekah1021

This is what DD does and we have learned that if we go a little early she does much better.

shopgirl78

Nathan will be two next month and he is tough in restaurants.   We usually go to places that can get us in and out and go prior to our usual 6pm dinner time when its not so busy.  

cnybride2be

you are describing sean!  who is doing better and will be three in december.  i think the wait for the food is the most painful and we try to pick places that won't be forever to get something on the table (he has less movement if we get an appetizer up front)  so we still take him but are selective as to where and how long.  it does get better because matt at 4 was out of the bounce around at the table stage.

i'm thinking many two year olds have a difficult time sitting still at a restaurant.

it's kind of like this, if you were to expect a two year old to sit quietly for 20-40 minutes at the table at home without food would they sit quietly and not move?  my exp. is probably not.

sooosie

He always has to sit in a high chair.  We don't trust him to sit still otherwise.  But if we give him enough to occupy him (crackers, crayons, etc) he does ok.  It depends on how hungry he is once we get there.

DevonPow

I blame all this on DH!  He let DS sit with us in the booth instead of the high chair the other week, and now DS refuses a high chair. He was Mr. Perfect in restaurants before the switch (he sits in a booster at home and is pretty good). Boo - I should have known never to let that happen. Oh well.

shouldbeworkin

DD will not sit still in a chair, booster or high chair.  It is really annoying and I hate taking her to dinner.  My 4 y/o is much more reasonable at dinner, but for both, the meal has got to be quick or they start getting antsy.

FriskyPanda

We have to go at an off time, and if it takes too long I have to take her outside at least once (sometimes twice) to let her work off some energy.

 

jen5-03

DD does pretty well in restaurants.

DD recently started refusing the high chair after getting a taste of freedom when our playgroup went out to lunch and there weren't enough to go around.

In a booster pulled all the way up to the table she does almost as well as a high chair because she can't get out and there's no where for her to move to. 

A booth is a little more challenging and she does stand up but I try not to make a big deal about that. I do not let her go under the table though - she's tried, I pulled her out and we stepped outside to have timeout and she hasn't tried it again (though I'm sure she will eventually)

I usually have a little plastic tote bag with a book, magnadoodle, and 1-2 small toys to occupy her (preferrably happy meal type toys, nothing we don't mind losing). If there are crayons there that will usually work. I also let her play with packets of sugar and even let her eat the sugar out of one.

We typically go out for Mexican food and it's very fast once you order and that helps a lot. Our other go to place is a Chinese buffet - so again we have immediate food and no waiting.

Dimplz

At 2, DS always sat in a high chair, in fact he is just now starting to sit in a booster chair at 3! If he gets all wiggly, we tell him we're going to put him in a high chair and that usually works to straighten him out!