Eating Out with Kids... And Enjoying It
We all dream of perfect little cherubs dining politely while seated at beautiful tables with white linens and candles, but reality is often far from it. Being equipped when eating out with children can help to create a fun and memorable family night.
Timing is everything! We often decide to eat out after we've had a long and tiring day, forgetting that the children have ALSO had a long and tiring day. In my home at least, that means cranky and irritable children. If possible, eat out if the children are well rested and in good humor before you get to the restaurant (crowded restaurants seldom calm or cheer cranky kids). Also, try to time it so the children are eating at "their usual time" or as close as possible.
Simplify your experience before and after you eat. Pack just what you need in your diaper bag or purse and be sure to bring what you need. I'm not sure who invented hand sanitizer or sanitizing wipes, but I am one grateful mom! Taking three preschoolers to the restroom for handwashing can quickly turn into a soapy, slippery scene. Keep hand sanitizer or wipes handy in your purse and voila! You have a headache-free way to prepare your children for dinner.
After you're served, request the check and pay before you're finished. If your children become fidgety at the end of the meal, you can make a fast exit without having to wait for receipts.
Bring your own "Restaurant Survival Kit." It is a good idea to have a few tricks up your sleeve for bored, hungry, anxious kids. Restaurant crayons and paper (if provided) aren't always enough to occupy the attention of young children. Choose a few of these items to entertain and occupy the kids while they wait.
- Books: I Spy Books and Look and Find Books are excellent for restaurants, and they come in small paperback versions for easy toting. Parents aren’t required to read a story, and children spend a long time looking for objects on each page. Bonus points for educational value: I Spy is excellent mental exercise! Other good choices are comic books or paperbacks for young self-readers, and touch-and-feel board books for toddlers.
- Drawing and design: The Magna Doodle is my favorite restaurant/ travel/car/ waiting room toy of all time. Children love to draw and they can create for hours with the Magna Doodle. Best of all, the stylus is attached with a cord so they don’t lose it, and it doesn’t melt (like crayons in the car on a hot day), need sharpening or break! Children can draw pictures, play games like Hang Man and Tic Tac Toe or write poems and stories with this quiet toy.
- Card games: Flash cards can be great for drilling letters, numbers, states and shapes. My favorite of all for restaurants and travel are the Brain Quest series with age appropriate trivia and games on a series of cards all connected together with a brad, so you’re not scrambling under tables for dropped or lost cards!
- Small toys: Kids meal toys, small dolls (with a bottle to feed baby), action figures, kaleidoscopes, magnifying glasses, prisms and stuffed to work well as quiet toys. Word of caution with these: If your child likes to make Buzz Lightyear fly and zoom, or the baby doll has a tendency to “cry a lot,” you might opt to leave these items at home.
- Make up games: The artwork and decorations in the restaurant or illustrated menus can provide many great things to find for your own custom I Spy game, and Twenty Questions is a great backup. We like to play Guess Who, a made up game where I list two or three attributes describing a familiar character and my girls try to guess who it is.
With a little planning ahead, dining out can be a pleasant time for the entire family!