No doubt accompanying young children to a restaurant can prove to be a daunting task, especially for new parents. Not only do you have to take care of your children but also maintain your eating etiquette, so that you can have the minimum amount of chaos. All it needs is some planning and you’ll be good to go.
Therefore, in this comprehensive guide, we’ll be sharing the crucial tips & tricks that you must follow, especially when going out with your children for dinner.
Suggestions To Follow When Dining Out With Your Children
1. Avoid Being Late
According to a reliable childcare centre in Auckland, when you’re dining out with your children, remember to always be early. But, that doesn’t mean that you have to opt for the early bird supper menu. The reason why you should go out early for dinner is that restaurants stay less busy during the early evening hours.
Moreover, you don’t want to let your children stay hungry late till late at night because children can get cranky & difficult to manage when they have their belly empty. Besides, you’d want to get the dinner done and reach home before bedtime for your children arrives.
Hence, keeping all the above-mentioned factors in consideration, you need to take the decision.
2. Proceed To Select A Family-Friendly Restaurant
Family-friendly restaurants will be happy to serve both children and adults, while normal restaurants will be happy serving only adult clientele. Furthermore, family-friendly restaurants will have special menu items for kids, which your children will surely enjoy.
In case you’re not sure whether a restaurant is family-friendly, you can always call the restaurant to ask about the same or look up their online website. You can also look for recommendations from your friends, relatives and colleagues.
Remember to always book your reservations in advance, so that when you arrive at the restaurant, there will be no shortage of seats to sit down. Children don’t like to be kept waiting.
3. Enjoy Slowly Fine Dining
Choose somewhere family-friendly but not too expensive if this is your first time dining out with children. Start with one course and skip the desserts and appetizers. Jessica Ritz, founder of Taster Tots LA, a blog that lists kid-friendly restaurants in Los Angeles with adult-friendly cuisine, says, “Most parents are able to gauge what their children can tolerate.” Some children enjoy eating role-play at a certain age. For example, they might place a napkin on their laps. Murphy says, “Don’t underestimate your children–they love being treated like adults!”
4. Bring Some Toys With You
Try to have realistic expectations that your children might get impatient for the food to arrive or when waiting for the bill to be paid. So, to keep your children engaged and quiet, bring along some toys with you. Unhappy children can start throwing tantrums and thereby ruin the eating atmosphere for you and other people inside the restaurant.
5. Bring Children-Friendly Spoon/Fork
If your child is very young, then he or she will not be able to use the full range spoon or fork that the restaurants provide. In that case, we suggest carrying your child’s favourite small spoon and/or fork, so that your child faces no difficulties when eating food at the restaurant.
Finally, take this opportunity to help your children learn table manners when eating out.