Going out to eat with your kids

mrs. remy

Does anyone else find going out to eat with your (young) kids more hassle than it is worth? Every time we do it I find myself asking why we did. Its not enjoyable, i feel like all I am doing is either 1) feeding the baby, 2) telling DS1 not to touch something he shouldn't be or otherwise keeping him entertained, 3) keeping the baby from flinging plates off the table or tipping drinks over, and then by the time my food comes I am pretty much shoveling it down and trying to flag down our waiter to get the check because they are getting restless and we need to get out of there.

Does anyone else feel this way or are my kids just more high energy? My friend is trying to get the two of us plus our four kids to go out and get lunch and I am kind of dreading it.

mrs. remy

Yeah, between the age of 1-2 it was really no fun because DS did not want to sit for more than 5 minutes at a time. Now, he would be ok on his own but we have to juggle the baby in the mix too.

Having said that I still think its kind of important to take them out every now and then because I want them to be used to it and know how to act appropriately, etc.

BunintheOven311

We found it's easier to go out with our friends and their kids because the kids keep eachother entertained. 

Megcheer2

Yes, yes, yes on the more hassle than its worth. Although I agree with BitO that its easier when we're out with friends who have kids because they do keep each other better entertained, even if its just looking at what the other kid/kids are doing.

DD is generally a well-behaved child but I find myself worrying about what she might do and then can't enjoy myself like I should, even if she's not really misbehaving. Luckily, DH is more laid back and doesn't stress about the what-ifs like I do. I can't imagine trying to do this with two kids one day, but I'm sure we will.

Cooper81

I haven't felt that way with DS, but that is probably because we still have the 2 parents 1 kid ratio going on.  Most likely I'll feel differently with 2.  We've only taken DS to non-chain/kid friendly places with a large group of family, so then it's nice because he has them to interact with him or someone offers to take him on a quick walk.  We frequent Panera, Friendy's, and some of the outdoor places in Annapolis (so it's more entertaining for him to watch people and animals go by)

madladybride

I do. We don't have family around and most of our friends do not have kids, so we don't usually go out. I don't enjoy it because I am the one usually tending to DD. We do kid friendly/non-chain places, too, but DD only sits still for about 15 minutes.

I think the last place we went was Stone Brewery when we were in CA in June. DD would NOT sit in her seat. DH and I took turns running around the lovely outdoor zen garden with her. It was DH's dream to visit this place and he really wanted to have a nice meal, but DD wasn't having it.

ras26

Sometimes.  We do well in loud places, because DD is generally good, but "talks" very loudly in her screechy pterodactyl voice.  We've gone out with friends (with a 15 mo. old) to a mexican place during happy hour on a Friday and it's noisy enough that the kids aren't disturbing anyone (one time they were drowned out by the mariachi band). 

For Father's Day, though, we went out to Ellicott Mills Brewery at like 2pm and it was *almost* empty, but I felt bad and we left kind of quickly because it was otherwise quiet, DD was loud, and I didn't want to disturb the few people that were there.  DH enjoyed his beer, but I ended up walking around carrying DD while I gulped mine down. 

mrs. remy

ras26:

Sometimes.  We do well in loud places, because DD is generally good, but "talks" very loudly in her screechy pterodactyl voice. 

LOL-DS1 did this a lot when he was about 18 months. He discovered that the Cheesecake Factory has great acoustics for screeching and we had to get out of there quick. Especially since the tables in there are like 6 inches from eachother! haha.

Kaybee44

We're the opposite here but the kids have been going out to restaurants since B was a tiny baby. We do dinner with my MIL and/or my parents once a week so they're just used to going out. They do get antsy after they finish their food.

KathrynMD

We are 2:1 and its generally an easy process for us as long as its somewhere relatively quick and loud and we don't go too late.  We probably go out w/ DD at least 1x week and frequently more 2 or more times.  We had a rough patch when she was ~1.5 where she was a good walker and didn't want to sit anywhere for any length of time - she threw silverware at PF Chang's and we just left.  It was awful an stressful and we basically didn't go out for several months, but then she got over it. 

If I was going out w/ a friend w/ kids, I'd go to Chik Fila or Chuck E. Cheese - kids can play, moms can talk!

anonsouthernbell

lol sometimes...if we stick to loud places we usually are okay. 

jcsntms06

I could of written this post. We don't enjoy dinners out at all anymore. We actually hardly go out to dinner anymore, unless we have lots of help (at least another person). I find that we are picking up food more often and eating at home, where I can put the baby in the swing or bouncy seat and Annabelle isn't freaking the H out when she's done, which usually means that DH and I just started to eat.

jcsntms06

mrs. remy:

ras26:

Sometimes.  We do well in loud places, because DD is generally good, but "talks" very loudly in her screechy pterodactyl voice. 

LOL-DS1 did this a lot when he was about 18 months. He discovered that the Cheesecake Factory has great acoustics for screeching and we had to get out of there quick. Especially since the tables in there are like 6 inches from eachother! haha.

Found out last week a great loud place is buffalo wild wings! We actually went because DH had a gift card and we thought, why not. DD2 sleep the entire time, I think she likes being in loud places. 

KathrynMD

I always bring extra food for DD - normally pirates booty or the mini-ritz crackers - so she can eat those before the meal and then she gets her meal served when we do.  I also am pretty relaxed w/ her meal choices at restaurants - so she almost always gets chocolate milk and recently diluted lemonade and I let her order mac & cheese/chicken nuggets/pizza w/ fruit or veggies.  If DH or I have fries, she's a happy girl and will eat those. 

lauranne

It's much easier to go out with friends who have kids because the kids can entertain themselves.  We love Freddies in Bel Air because there's a play ground.  Can't beat that!  It is a challenge.  Aiden's become a very slow and picky eater, and Claire of course wants food immediately and isn't patient.  We do take them out as I want them to learn proper behavior in a restaurant.  But it's never a relaxing experience!

dixee.deluxe

Now that we have 2u2, I find it hard to see a point in our lives where we'll see the inside of a restaurant as a family.

:::sigh:::

(we actually did it once.  red robin.  kiddos did ok, but i got poisoned.  awesome.)

AKBrideinMD

DD is getting to that age...it's not really worth it anymore. Tonight we went to Panera because it was short enough that she only started to get fussy/annoyed with sitting still for the last five minutes of our meal.

We had a lot of dinners out planned w/ old friends/family in Alaska and I knew it wasn't going to be much fun...a couple went good/ok, and a few ended up with one of us walking her around the restaurant half the time. I can't imagine with two toddlers or older babies. Eeek! 

jnealet

D1 is good in restaurants, she had a small window where she just wanted to move and explore but she's grown out of it.  D2 is still young enough to be happy that she's sitting in a high chair and not on my lap.  I'm sure we'll hit the "bad at restaurants" soon but we'll work through it.