How does your child do in restaurants?

in my life · February 2012

C is 2.5 and we generally don't go out to eat a ton. She does pretty well, but gets a little restless/bored if we are there for a good amount of time.

An example is Friday, I went out to dinner with my parents and we were there for probably an hour and 20 minutes. After awhile, C started "dropping" her toys on the floor so she'd have to get down and pick them up. I generally bring crayons, her little laptop, etc. to entertain her, but it only lasts for so long. My mom made the comment that at that age my sister and I were always so well behaved in restaurants they didn't need to worry at all about behavior. I, on the other hand, always feel anxious that C is going to melt down, etc. or that I am constantly entertaining her. It just sin't a very enjoyable experience. She hasn't had a meltdown in a restaurant for ages, but I'm always wary. hah

Amy&Andy · February 2012

It's pretty much a nightmare, especially nowadays with him not being a huge fan of eating. He does a lot better sitting by himself in a booth vs high chair or booster though. And he thinks playing with the straws and cups is just oh so fun. I hate it. We take him out to eat maybe once every 3 months. We just order take out.

juliane2004 · February 2012

DD is great. When I was a SAHM with just her, we went to Denny's all the time, like 3 times a week, just me and her. I think that got her used to it. We eat out less now but still 1/week usually. She colors a lot, eats food, and walks around the area we are seated at.

DS is less great, I think it's because we didn't go out as often as we did when DD was little. He also can't color yet, he tries to eat the colors instead, so we usually try to feed him first, then feed with different snacks and/or off our plates. Then if he is bored, he'll melt down a lot faster. Again, I think going out more often is what helped DD and NOT going out is what hindered DS.

LoveEeyore · February 2012

Mine are great- I take them out to lunch once a week and have since DD#1 was a couple months old. THAT said- it's subway, or noodles and company or something- they wait in line beautifully, and then we sit and food is there. Then they eat and clean up- maybe 30 minutes total? Maybe a sit down place once in a blue moon if I have DH with me. I've just started taking them to IHOP by myself to build up their "endurance" but if it weren't enjoyable, I don't feel strongly enough to push the issue at these ages.

I would take your mom's "rememory" with a grain of salt. I can't even remember what DD#1 was like at that age in specific scenarios and she's 4. I think an hour is a long time. The therapy formula we used to know how long to expect kids to stay appropriately on task- take the age, multiply by 2. If that is a single digit, add 5. If that digit is double, add 10. Now that is in a therapeutic setting, but I use it alot with my kids to do a quick guess how long I should set up activities for play dates, or even my little crew here. Sounds to me like your little one did a great job!

jenn_darrin1515 · February 2012

my girls last an hour...that's their max. they do really well for that hour - eating, drinking, chatting, coloring...but once time is up they are all over the place and LOUD.

superaunt · February 2012

she does OK unless she's tired. an hour and 20 is a long time for them to sit still. heck it's a long time for me to sit still.

12bailey18 · February 2012

jenn_darrin1515:
my girls last an hour...that's their max. they do really well for that hour - eating, drinking, chatting, coloring...but once time is up they are all over the place and LOUD.

This for us too. After so long, he is done. If we do go out to eat, we keep it family, friendly, at a noisy place...LOL.

MammaBear81 · February 2012

I'd say my kids are really good (pending we are eating at an appropriate meal time, and not someones nap time). When we go out to eat I prefer places like Chili's that has call ahead seating, so we don't have to wait long to sit (or go at times/places that don't usually have a wait). The older kids will pick out their meal, and we bring the Nook's for the kids to play with if they get board. DD2 has a few fav. games that keep her entertained for most of the time.

I can understand your feelings when it comes to a melt down and/or constantly entertaining them. DH and I always agree that if any of the kids are too loud, or misbehaving that one of us will take them out to the car, at least until they calm down. Once the kids realize that they can get a "time out" even at a restaurant they tend to sit still and behave. DD2 has gotten a time out or two recently, but I think it's starting to "click". I do agree that sometimes I don't even remember the meal if I have to entertain her all the time, but now that she has her "favorite apps" I haven't had to do that in about 4 months. Soon it will be LO's turn though and the cycle will start again Stick out tongue

diana.filipi · February 2012

Ophelia usually does okay but only if the high chair belt is in good working order LoL. She doesn't know much about inside voice vs outside voice. We go out to eat at least once every other week and usually it's not bad. We've had a few rough ones.

PrincessShay80 · February 2012

DD has her good times and her bad times- she is used to going out to eat- we go out at least twice a week and have done since DD was born. We take the ipad with us and DD will usually sit and watch a movie- I also bring crayons and coloring books- I have given up on high chairs- she likes booster seats in a booth, or sitting in her own chair. We order her soup right away- she LOVES soup and loves to eat it herself- that usually keeps her pretty entertained.

We try to stick to loud family centered restaurants- no five star restaurants with DD- so even is shes having a bad time where she wont sit or is being loud it's not distracting anyone else.

fromvatobk · February 2012

DS is ok for meals where the food comes quickly and we are prepared with dvd/iphone, crayons, cars, etc. It definitely is not "relaxing" for us. If we have to wait for a long time for the food or if someone in the group wants to linger, we have a bigger problem, mostly because DS gets curious about what is going on at other tables, etc. An hour and 20 min would be really pushing the limit with him and would have been over the limit for him at 2.5. He's getting better as he gets older though and I think he'll be great for longer periods by around 3.5 or 4. If it makes you feel any better, I've noticed that my mom seems to remember what I did at certain ages incorrectly. She seems to think that I did stuff at certain ages and when we discuss it further, it turns out that I was actually older than she remembered. It is possible that your mom is doing the same thing.

groovygrl · February 2012

Mine are hit or miss but DS is wayyyy worse than DD, he gets bored easily & I must come armed w/ something to snack on before meals, the crayons at kid friendly places usually are tossed on the floor within minutes along with most things I have tried to bring to entertain him (at least since about 26 or 27 months old anyway) and we can't go if he is really hungry b/c it will be a bad scene. He goes through phases where he is good for a few times & then a nightmare a couple times & we take a break. We generally try to go out once a week but never for over an hour and we have taken them out weekly for the most part since they were maybe like 10 months old. We always order their food as soon as we get there to get it out quicker and always ask for the check from the get go in case we have to make a quick exit.

GL often it is just a phase I think if it is not normal behavior. And ignore your mom

UsedToBeGoldie · February 2012

all 3 of my boys were great at restaurants until about 2yo... then they go through this terror stage anywhere out of the house.... my oldest got better closer to 3yo... i'm hoping the twins get better soon bc we miss going out to eat - and we have our disney trip soon, lol.

octwed07 · February 2012

DD does great in places that are quick in/out -- like a subway, chipotle, etc. Sit down restaurants are much more challenging. We need to bring lots of things to entertain her with (crayons, stickers, small snacks (cereal, etc)). We generally only take her to famil friendly restaurants,and even then, one of us has to entertain her. At this point, we only try to go to places that are quick.

honeybee111 · February 2012

DD(2 years) does great in restaurants(knock on wood). We go out to eat twice a week and we pretty much follow a set routine in order for it to go smoothly. We eat super early - like 11 for lunch and 5 for dinner. If it's a sit down place that might take longer than 10-15 min to get food, one of us will take DD out to walk around before the food comes. She's fine when the food gets here. As a last resort, DH will give her his phone to play with. We've been able to do appetizer, main course, and dessert with her and she's been fine. I would say an hour is about her max, though.

Abinormal · February 2012

LoveEeyore:

Mine are great- I take them out to lunch once a week and have since DD#1 was a couple months old. THAT said- it's subway, or noodles and company or something- they wait in line beautifully, and then we sit and food is there. Then they eat and clean up- maybe 30 minutes total? Maybe a sit down place once in a blue moon if I have DH with me. I've just started taking them to IHOP by myself to build up their "endurance" but if it weren't enjoyable, I don't feel strongly enough to push the issue at these ages.

I would take your mom's "rememory" with a grain of salt. I can't even remember what DD#1 was like at that age in specific scenarios and she's 4. I think an hour is a long time. The therapy formula we used to know how long to expect kids to stay appropriately on task- take the age, multiply by 2. If that is a single digit, add 5. If that digit is double, add 10. Now that is in a therapeutic setting, but I use it alot with my kids to do a quick guess how long I should set up activities for play dates, or even my little crew here. Sounds to me like your little one did a great job!

So, it'd be 9 minutes for a two year old?

Abinormal · February 2012

honeybee111:
DD(2 years) does great in restaurants(knock on wood). We go out to eat twice a week and we pretty much follow a set routine in order for it to go smoothly. We eat super early - like 11 for lunch and 5 for dinner. If it's a sit down place that might take longer than 10-15 min to get food, one of us will take DD out to walk around before the food comes. She's fine when the food gets here. As a last resort, DH will give her his phone to play with. We've been able to do appetizer, main course, and dessert with her and she's been fine. I would say an hour is about her max, though.

Since this is pretty much what I was going to say, I'll just quote this response and add a bit to it.

We don't really take DD out to walk around, since she's not keen on getting back into the high chair once she's been let out. DD seems pretty content to kick back and wait for her food, especially if we have bread or chips for her to munch on while waiting. She also likes to color and look at the kid's menu. Every once in awhile, I'll bring out my phone and she can play with one of the kid's apps or watch a short youtube video. I don't bring toys to the restaurant mainly because we don't allow her to play with toys while eating dinner at home.

LoveEeyore · February 2012

Abinormal:
LoveEeyore:

Mine are great- I take them out to lunch once a week and have since DD#1 was a couple months old. THAT said- it's subway, or noodles and company or something- they wait in line beautifully, and then we sit and food is there. Then they eat and clean up- maybe 30 minutes total? Maybe a sit down place once in a blue moon if I have DH with me. I've just started taking them to IHOP by myself to build up their "endurance" but if it weren't enjoyable, I don't feel strongly enough to push the issue at these ages.

I would take your mom's "rememory" with a grain of salt. I can't even remember what DD#1 was like at that age in specific scenarios and she's 4. I think an hour is a long time. The therapy formula we used to know how long to expect kids to stay appropriately on task- take the age, multiply by 2. If that is a single digit, add 5. If that digit is double, add 10. Now that is in a therapeutic setting, but I use it alot with my kids to do a quick guess how long I should set up activities for play dates, or even my little crew here. Sounds to me like your little one did a great job!

So, it'd be 9 minutes for a two year old?

Sure. I definitely expect my 2 year olds to sit at a restaurant or dinner table, or art activity for 9-10 minutes without needing to sit on my lap or have a distraction besides the environment/company. Just like in their preschool, circle, art projects, story times all average 10 minutes. Not that it's all they can attend to, but it's a formula to average their ability to self monitor in an activity not self motivated. We do longer activities, of course, but like I said, that's a therapeutic model.

DTNZ4Ever · February 2012

DS does great in restaurants. He goes anywhere from Panera to Chili's to a Japanese restaurant where they cook at the table or a stake house. If its just DH and I we will just get dinner no appetizer or dessert and he does great. He will color and do fine until food arrives. If we are with the ILs they always get appetizers and dessert I bring my iPhone or iPad and that helps keep him entertained. We have always taken him out to eat but there was a period of time between 1/1.5 and 2 where he would not tolerate side down restaurants. We make sure we go early so if it means getting there at 5 that is what we do.

mbgreenwalt · February 2012

We go out to breakfast every Sunday with my parents. DD does great for breakfast, she is hungry at that time. Dinner with just DH and I is not so good. She is never hungry at night and doesn't want to sit still. If we go out with family or friends she does great though.

Kingston54 · February 2012

We go out to eat every Friday and Saturday and usually at least one night during the week - sometimes more. LO does well - I think very well for his age - if we are prepared.

I bring the foods he likes, we bring some toys, etc.

If it's a weekend night and it's going to be a longer dinner (we go with 6 family members), we also bring a portable DVD player - works excellent!

He knows that he has to sit in the high chair and he's not getting out. The times he has had a tantrum, we have either taken him outside or left.

jillms413 · February 2012

It's usually hit or miss with us. I have found that she does best when she is tired but not overly cranky. And when she is very hungry. If she is hungry, she'll snack and munch on things the entire meal. Otherwise, she won't sit still.

kreeper611 · February 2012

We're also in the "it depends" boat. If it is just the three of us, he does ok 80% of the time - as long as there is a very short wait, and he usually won't last more than an hour. If we have to wait and then eat, odds are he'll melt down before food is even served.

If we're with other family members, he does pretty good because he can visit with more people. Also, if we're out with friends who have kids he does great. They mirror each others behavior and as long as one of them behaves, they usually all do pretty good. The only issue I ever run into is that DS wants a cup & straw like the bigger kids...only he ends up pouring milk all over himself. :-)

At this age, I don't expect too much and we're not taking him to a fancy steakhouse. We keep it casual and aim for places that are kid friendly.

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