Gone are the days where you get to visit a fine dining restaurant for every single meal. Now you have to find places that are child friendly and will definitely have something that the kids can eat. Eating out with the kids doesn’t have to be a time full of stress. Here’s our completely stress free guide to dining with the kids while you’re travelling.
Take Some Toys with You
Whether it’s their favourite stuffed animal or a small colour book, take some forms of entertainment with you. Children don’t understand why they have to wait for their food. They will kick and scream, because that’s the only thing they know to do to get attention—at least, when they’re very young. If you keep them occupied, they won’t realise how much time has gone between ordering and getting their meals.
If you forget or you plan last minute, have some games that you can play. I-spy is an excellent option, since it keeps children in their seats and fully engrossed in the things around them.
Look for Child-Friendly Eateries
Do your research into the best places to take children. You want a place that tends to have a lot of families, so you have the noise in the background for your own kids to fit in with. Some restaurants will even have a kids play area for them to use while they wait for their food!
If you can’t find these types of restaurants, look for ones that offer a buffet. Buffets allow you and the kids to go up as soon as you’re ready, rather than waiting for the meal to be cooked and brought to you. The kids will also love getting to choose different types of food to put on their plates.
Get There First
Find out when the restaurants open and aim to be there first. The place will be empty, which means the service is fully focused on you. It will take less time to make the food, so your children have less time to wait. You’ll also likely have friendly staff, who haven’t already had to deal with numerous screaming children.
Set the Ground Rules
Make your expectations clear. Set the ground rules before you leave and make the consequences clear if those ground rules are not followed. If the children do misbehave, you need to follow through with the consequences that you set out. As children realise that what you say is “the law,” they will follow your rules and be polite and friendly customers. Make sure any ground rules you do have are age-appropriate.
When children are good, praise them. This positive enforcement will make them feel good. They want to feel like that again, so they will behave the whole time they’re out. The more you praise, the less likely they are to act out for attention.
Determine Your Escape Plan
Arrange between you what will happen if the plan doesn’t work out. There are going to be times that things just don’t happen the way you want, even if you go prepared. The best thing to do is ask for takeout containers and pay quickly to get the children out of there as soon as possible. You can deal with the child’s consequences on the way home.
It’s time to get your plan in action. Look for restaurants with children dining experience and don’t be afraid to ask for your food to go if you’ve tried it all. You’ll find with ground rules and distractions, eating out with the kids is much easier than ever before.