Do you dare take your kids out to eat or are you one of those parents who have resigned to eating your meals at home for the next decade or so?

If you’re from the later group, you can probably relate to this funny set of photos on Jannie Funster titled Why We Usually Eat at Home.

We were blessed to have children who always seemed to behave whenever we went out to eat. But then we ate out so much when they were younger that it probably became second nature for them to sit through a restaurant meal. They’ve seen many restaurant ceilings from their baby carriers and by the time my daughters were old enough to sit in high chairs they were pros at eating out. They knew what a salad fork was and could wield a chopstick held together by rubber bands to pick up their noodles. However, by the time my third daughter came around it seemed to become more difficult to go out to restaurants. To this day we never could figure out what happened there (we could have just gotten burnt out and tired) but that doesn’t mean we curtailed out eating out. We just amended our procedures a bit.

Here are a few tips we’ve learned:

TIPS ON DINING OUT WITH YOUNG CHILDREN

1. Start at home. Set the pattern early. As important as food is to me, we established early on that food is not to be played with and that as we are thankful for the blessings we receive, we must also accord it some respect for keeping us healthy and giving us the pleasure of taste. This didn’t mean that we always ate fancy, God forbid! I couldn’t have lasted long. LOL! What this means is that we taught them that the dining table is for eating. When you eat, you eat at the table. Not under it, not while you’re running around and not anywhere else. They learned early that some foods you can eat with your hands but most foods you need to use a fork or a spoon or chopsticks. Take your weapon of choice. Little lessons such as using a napkin instead of your shirtsleeve, for instance, should start at home. There are plenty. But when they see you put the paper down or turn the tv off so you can eat dinner together, they will understand that food and eating is important. Not only for our body but for our soul.

2. Keep it short. Children have a short attention span. Any parent knows that. So keep dinner time short. When taking kids out to dinner, it doesn’t have to be fast food all the time or at all for that matter. Just make sure that the restaurant you go to doesn’t have a slow service that you end up having to sit a long time waiting to be served. Multiple course dinners are out; you’d be better off getting a sitter on days when you want to savor your soup and salad before your entree comes.

3. Do your research. Make sure that the restaurant you are going to will have food that are suitable for kids. I love sushi bars myself, but if the only thing served at a restaurant is raw fish, then you may have problems with little kids. Thank goodness mine loved edamame and that the restaurant we frequented made excellent tempura. They had something the kids could eat until they developed their palates for sushi, that is Choose restaurants that will appeal to kids or will cater to their needs and you’ll be less likely to be disappointed. And no, it doesn’t have to be Chuckie Cheese all the time. For instance, my girls love aquariums. One of the restaurants we frequented had a huge aquariums with lots of colorful fish. We always requested a table next to the aquarium and the girls were so fascinated watching the fish that sometimes my husband and I even had time to sit for after dinner coffee!

4. Stuff happens. Accidents and little kids go hand and hand. Try to take spills and mishaps in stride and don’t let it ruin your dining experience. That is unless one of your kids has the stomach flu and ends up vomiting all over your front shirt. You should have never gone out in the first place. However, an upturned water glass or a bowl of rice accidentally tipped onto the floor should not be a big deal. Apologize to the wait staff for the extra work and leave an extra tip. Clean up your child and keep going. I remember feeling so bad for one child who spilled his drink while reaching for it. The dad went on and on about how he should have been more careful and what a klutz he is. These things happen and are soon forgotten by everyone. Your child will remember a public chastisement for a long time.

5. Have Fun and Know Your Limits. Make the outing fun for the kids rather than torture and they will be apt to behave better. Learn to gauge when your children are nearing their limit. When the whining and restlessness start escalating, be ready to get out of there. If you’ve followed the previous steps this stage will come much later. Hopefully, closer to the end of the meal than the beginning.

Most of all, always carry with you not only extra napkins but also lots of PATIENCE. They do grow up to be very pleasant dinner companions, I promise.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 5:06 pm and is filed under children, parenting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.