children in restaurants

[TheSHAD0W]

"No one thinks your child is as adorable as you do"

http://www.ottawacitizen.com/life/Di...832/story.html

"I like children as much as the next person. Which is to say, not very much. I love my own children madly and I still want to throttle them sometimes. So, imagine how I feel about your little darling popping a squat in the middle of my crowded dining room at 9 p.m. on a Saturday night."

[Exaspera]

Good article! I sent it to my Step-daughter and her husband. We got our first grandson 1 month ago.

[Magpie]

I was a little confused about the "don't order off the kid's menu" until she explained

Most restaurants will prepare a regular adult meal in a child-appropriate size and usually for a reduced price.

She really reminds me of my parents. I've always thought it was depressing that my parents were unusual in taking us home, finding a sitter and going back out one night when were misbehaving. How do I know it's unusual? The manager went to the bother of going and thanking them.

[PepperElf]

ya i liked how she suggested that ... how act at home will influence how your kids act in public

that if you want your kids to read more, be an avid reader
if you want your kids to try other foods in a restaurant, don't just feed them junk at home


the kids learn from their parents.

or as the navy said... you fight how you train.

[BookstoreEscapee]

The children were not badly behaved, just unsupervised, and constantly in the way of the servers working in the dining room and on the patio.

I disagree. If they are not staying in their seats, constantly getting in the way, and are being loud, they are not being particularly well-behaved.

Once a child is old enough to employ silverware, she should not be permitted to fling her food at anything or anyone other than her mother.

[Amina516]

Great article.

My kids, thankfully, never had a full on fit in a restaurant. But I was also sure to start taking them out at a young age, so they got used to the enviornment.

[Hyndis]

One thing I'm guilty of is I do sometimes order off the kid's menu.

At Outback, they have the most delicious mac and cheese ever!

Its just mac and cheese. Its nowhere else on the menu. But its absolutely awesome. I however order a full other meal to go along with it, and/or an appetizer/desert. Its not like I get only the mac and cheese, but I just get it as a side.

Makes for great leftovers too!

[BookstoreEscapee]

One thing I'm guilty of is I do sometimes order off the kid's menu.

I think you're OK.

I don't remember ever really ordering off the kids' menu when I was a kid. I'm a picky eater but I have long been getting rib-eye steaks and chicken and pasta dishes like a grownup. If there were left-overs we brought them home and one of my parents would eat it if I didn't.

[RetailWorkhorse]

I'm trying to understand this one but....what is a "leftover"? [/Rhetorical]

EQ and I were taught from a very young age how to behave in a restaurant (under pain of them taking away our outside-privileges. It was BORING without being able to play in the mud). Can see no reason why children are unable to be taught basic manners.

[BookstoreEscapee]

EQ and I were taught from a very young age how to behave in a restaurant

So were we (or we were just naturally well-behaved little angels ). My dad and I went out to lunch a few years ago and across the way was a group with a toddler. He wasn't being disruptive or anything, but he was being, well, a toddler (he was strapped into a booster seat and was happy, so he was chattering a bit). Not annoying at all, but I made a comment to my dad about how he must not miss those days. He said my brother and I were always pretty good in restaurants.

[Andara Bledin]

My brother and I were taught from a very young age that mis-behavior in public places would be dealt with harshly once we were home. Everytime my mother took us anywhere, she always got compliments on how well we behaved. Hell, we used to get lots of free tokens from an arcade near where she was working for a while (couldn't afford a sitter or daycare) because we were angels when we were out.

^-.-^

[Lace Neil Singer]

My parents were always able to take my brothers and I out to restaurants. We always sat still, employed basic table manners and were polite. Then again, our parents always involved us in the conversation, ordered a bread basket to distract us while we were waiting for our food to arrive and provided pencils and paper (my brothers) and allowed book reading (me) if we got bored. I've lost count of the number of times I've seen people yammering away to each other or on a mobile nonstop while ignoring their kids in restaurants. Said kids nearly always end up running around or screeching; probably cuz they're bored and fed up with being ignored.