When it comes to eating out with your young children, it can seem like everything needs to be aligned just right: nap schedules, restaurant crowds, the planets.
For most situations, however, it really depends on your child’s age and whether or not you’re prepared to step out and brace that bite to eat with your busy toddler. While in execution, we are typically chasing after our curious and adventurous scallies rather than sitting down and eating, eating out can be a great experience for our children.
Whether it’s an occasional treat or a regular outing, it’s an opportunity for them to sit with others, mirror our social skills, try new foods and being part of the chats. Preparing for this social outing may not be worth it for many, but it’s either a choice of leaving the eating out until they are a little bit older or embracing it with a few ideas in mind.
You’ve decided ‘let’s do it’, so what next?
Choose a child-friendly spot. We all know that there is a number of restaurants we can visit that happily welcome children among their diners, and such an attitude reflects on what’s on the menu, as well as the array of colouring, paper and even toy supplies made available.
While children are still young, avoid the more formal settings. This way you don’t have to worry about the noise levels that comes with our busy little people. If it’s not a last-minute decision, book a table for earlier rather than later in the evening. I’m sure you'll agree the less hanging around with hungry bellies, the better.
What’s on the Menu?
The majority of restaurants have their menus online, meaning you can check out what’s available before you arrive - unless it’s your regular haunt and you know it off by heart!
It’s always a bonus to pack a variety of healthy snacks just in case: toddlers and young children love finger food like chopped up fruit and veg, bread sticks and other small foods. If you feel that grazing for them is the way to go and you’re not focused so much on them eating a full plate of food when you’re out, then this can often be a great alternative for both consumption and distraction.
If you really want to avoid the typical "sausage and chips" option, don’t hesitate to ask for a child’s portion of an adults’ meal choice. When it comes to side orders, let the children help themselves – within reason, of course. Children will often eat more if they can serve themselves, an approach that is encouraged in the crèche setting during mealtimes.
BYO-Beaker
When it comes to drinks, keep it BYOB – but I don’t mean bring your own booze! When it comes to the amount of drinks our children happily go through at one given sitting, they can certainly fill their bellies quite quickly. So, if you bring their own beaker with their favourite drink and leave it at that, this will take the pressure off.
For an older child, keep the drinks to a limit until they’ve made a good go of their meal. Whether that’s a jug of juice/water for the table or the individual ones on offer, remember their tummies are a lot smaller than ours and the more they drink, the fuller they become.
If you’re child does have a tendency to gulp, one idea is to offer half the drink during the meal and the remainder afterward.
Expect the unexpected
I meet a lot of parents who stress with the thoughts of taking their children out for a meal, often feeling that it’s "just not worth it". Often the children are up and down from the table, in and out of the toilet or just eager to take a trip around the restaurant to see what else is going.
This is okay if you are happy to go with it, but if you feel that your child is simply not ready to eat out avoid it for now. My husband and I made a decision when our children were smaller, to park it for the moment and try it out again when we know the children are happier and more content.
Of course, when it’s an event you have been invited to and can’t avoid, consider being prepared as much as you can. However, the majority of parents agree that they usually know when the children and parents are ready for a stress-free eating out experience!
In the meantime, encourage healthy eating habits at home, as it is really important that we try and sit with our children during mealtimes as much as we can. The more they experience this as an everyday part of family life, the more natural it is and the more likely they will sit at the table in a restaurant, too.
Aoife Lee - Parent Coach – Parent Support - aoife@parentsupport.ie
