My husband and I love to go out to eat. We love trying new places and we love frequenting our standby favorites. Our carefree restaurant days continued until our oldest daughter reached about 2 years old. For about a year, we entered into a Not Welcome In Public stage. You know what I’m talking about. We’d heard urban legends of families dining out, together, in public, without incident. But that just wasn’t us.
Since then, we have learned a thing or two and can now look forward to dining out again, as a family. This time with a 5 and two year old in tow. Now that we have a strategy – we all look forward to going out to eat together.
- Efficiency is your friend. This isn’t date night or a girls night out, you don’t have the luxury of perusing the menu, gushing over the cocktail list or uttering phrases like “can we have a little more time to decide?” Instead, go in with a plan. Check out the menu beforehand and have your order in the back of your mind when you sit down. A lot of times I will pull up the menu in the car and make some decisions before we get there.
- Order right away. We usually order the kids food the first time the waiter comes to the table (along with our margaritas). My girls eat at a sloth-like pace so they are generally still eating well after my husband and I have finished. However, the sooner they eat, the longer they tend to last.
- Pick a family friendly restaurant with little to no wait. I don’t mind waiting a few minutes for a table, but anything over a 15 minute wait is a no-go for us. There are lots of great local family-friendly options for casual dining in Dallas. (Mexican Food restaurants are great options because they tend to be loud)
- Go early. Our kids go to bed around 7:30 on a normal night, so going out to dinner at 6:30 is probably not going to yield the best results. We try to get to dinner a little on the early side, not only do we get a better version of the kids, but the restaurants aren’t that crowded.
And other diners are generally families. And other families are less judgmental if you have a kid freak out during dinner. - Highchair Houdini. If you have a little one that likes to climb in and out of the highchair, try a lobster claw clip on highchair like this one from Phil and Teds. It’s lightweight, easy to keep in the car and has a shoulder harness to keep the little escape artist in place. My girls always seemed comfortable and were always at the right table height.
- Shift the focus of your conversation. I’m not saying the entire dinner conversation needs to center around the kids. But this isn’t the time to have a grown up only talk. Involve them and engage them in the conversation. They may come in and out, especially if they are busy with an activity (suggestions below) but they will probably be on better behavior when they feel included.
- Take snacks. Hanger (hunger + anger) is a real thing, folks. A snack baggie of grapes, baby carrots, cheerios, etc. will hold them over until their dinner arrives.
- Entertainment. Let me just say – I am not opposed to the iPad or a phone if that helps get a little sanity at the restaurant table. But it’s not my first choice for kids entertainment while we are eating. I like to bring things that keep their little hands busy.
Tegu blocks. Travel magna doodles. Grab and Go packs (Dollar aisle in Target). Sketch book and crayons/markers. Wikisticks are great entertainment at restaurant tables. They get to be creative, mold and shape the sticks, crush what they made and start all over again.
What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy restaurants with your family?
