Do you take your 1 year olds to restaurants?

We have three restaurants we feel comfortable taking our twins to. We feel comfortable because the staff is super friendly in these places, have known our kids since they were teeny, usually not crowded and are pretty child proof. The issue is if we let them out of their high chairs they run in different directions and do find the not child proof things! we really aren't sitting at all if they are out of their chairs. If we keep them in their high chairs, sometimes they get too antsy. I try to bring toys for them to play with but of course they aren't interested. The other issue is since they can't communicate that well yet, sometimes they get really upset because they want something but we can't figure out what it is!! DH thinks our kids are undisciplined and all the other kids their age he sees out and about are better behaved. I don't think that, but maybe he right. I also wonder if it is fair to them to bring them to a place that expects them to be confined if they aren't feeling like it. DO you take your 1 year olds to restaurants? If so, how do you make it work? We don't go that often but lately the experiences have not been enjoyable.

 

I have taken my kids out to dinner since they were born. We try to get out at least every couple of months but sometimes it doesn't happen. When we do go out we just order dinner. No appitizers and no dessert so that they don't get too ansy sitting. I have toys set asside for taking out that they don't get to play with every day so that they are new and exciting for them when they do get to play with them while out. I also never let them out of their highchairs while out either unless I need to take them for a diaper change. For the most part my girls are good but once in a while they get a little cranky and dinner needs to be rushed.

 

We have gone since the kids were born. One good thing about our kids is that they love to eat. That makes going to a restaurant much easier!!! Also, we do not let them out of the highchairs/boosters. If they get antsy, then we will maybe put them in our lap. But roaming in a restaurant is something I am personally not comfortable letting my kids do. I do not like to be out eating, watching other kids run around. So I try not to let ours do the same. If they need to run around a bit, then DH will take them outside.

I do have to say, there was a short period right after they learned to walk that we did avoid eating out at sit down restaurants. They were just to curious about the world around them so we went to places we could order at the counter, eat and get out of there.

We have little backpacks the kids bring to restaurants. Before we leave, they get to "pack" their backpacks with some toys. I also keep a mini-coloring book in my diaper bag. Sometimes these tactics work and sometimes they don't.

 

Mine have been eating out since they were four months old. We make it a regular occurance, usually every two weeks and they love it. They know which restaurants they can act crazy in and which ones they are expected to sit in their seats. I never time it when they are overtired or crabby. Now that Dave is gone again I do it by myself and it is no big deal. Take toys for them to play with and ALWAYS order for them as soon as you sit down, that way their stuff comes out quickly.

 

Hey! Haven't seen you post in a long time. Hope everything is going well (well, other than the current situation you are dealing with). As for restaurants, we keep our restaurant outtings to a limit, doing it only once in a while so that we don't deal too much with the behavior issue. I think the best thing that keeps them behaved is to 1. Make sure they are REALLY hungry when we go. This allows them to focus on eating which in turn keeps them occupied. As soon as we get to the restaurant, we ask the waiter to bring bread and butter or something quick (including some apple juice) for them to "snack" on before the meal. 2. We also bring crayons and paper with us. This generally keeps them the most entertained for the longest time (we introduced crayons to our girls right around their first birthday). 3. We let them "explore" with the straws, spoons, napkins, sugar packets and anything else safe at the table. 4. Under no circumstance do they get out of the highchairs unless I"m taking them to the bathroom for a diaper change. If they do it once then why would they want to sit in their highchair when they could be off and running and exploring everything else in the restaurant. I don't know if I'm overly strict but it's a restaurant and I just think that it's important to teach them restaurant etiquette. WE don't up and walk around and touch everything and look at everything. You sit at the table, eat your meal perhaps use the restroom and then leave. At least that's how I view it. Hope you get some good suggestions from others and let us know if anything helped.

Oh, and tell dh that you don't have the worst behaved kids on the block (so to speak). You have VERY normal and healthy and curious, iquisitive kids who are all about learing everything they can about their world around them. If they just sat perfectly in a highchair for at least 30 min, I'd actually be very worried (At least at that age).

 

We take ours out all the time. I make sure that I always have bread to rip up in small peices to let them feed themselves the whole time. It keeps them pretty entertained. Also, I let them play with extra straws. We went to lunch today, and they satyed pretty content for about 2 hours.

BTW- Good to hear from you.

 

We hardly ever did, but I posted something very similar here and was amazed at how many people did. Many TSers said their kids sat in their high chairs through the whole meal because they were just used to it -- I take their word for that, but I couldn't imagine our kids ever doing it! Maybe we didn't start early enough -- I don't think mine ever saw the inside of a restaurant until they were at least 10 months.

However, since they've been 20 months or so, they have been better about it. I think they can entertain themselves better with things at the table (crayons, people-watching, etc.) and don't feel as much compulsion to run around. We also try to go out with friends if at all possible, so if they do need to get down, we at least have an extra adult to help chase them.

 

We've taken our girls out to eat since they were infants. They have never been allowed to roam around in the restaurants. We always have kept them as contained as possible. Even now when we go out they sit on the inside of the booth and we sit on the the end so they can't 'escape'. What always worked for us is bringing little toys and crayons with us to occupy them. Or, we would play I Spy while we waited for our food to come out. And, I know it goes against what most say but we never had the food come out first. A few times the server would bring it out first and it stunk for us because they would be finished first and be antsy while we were trying to eat. We always have their food come out with ours. If anything I would bring those Gerber puffs or crackers for them to munch on before the meal arrived. And, you are right to go to places that are kid friendly. I would also go at off times so they don't have to wait to be seated and the food comes out quickly. And, you can always request to be seated at a table that isn't near anyone that looks like they might get annoyed being near small kids.

I'm sure that your kids are just fine. And, I wouldn't stop taking them out. Use each dinner out as a learning experience for them. Every time that you take them they will learn how they are expected to behave in a restaurant.

 

We got out a minimum of once a week, mostly more. My kids were in resturants since they were a few weeks old. I don't let them walk around (its a danger for the waiters) but if they get fussy the get spoons, pens and paper or toys. Its rare that they are too fussy and that's when we doggy bag the rest of the food and go.

 

We used to go out alot. They were so good. My boys used to love to eat so as long as we had cherrios, they would be great until the meal came and then they would eat their meal and then we would leave. A few weeks ago, we went out to eat and before the food came out, they went bananas on us! We told the waitress we needed to take our food to go. One of my sons is having a much harder time being confined and I cant let him out of his highchair because he would literally run into the kitchen and if I tried to stop him, he would scream like I was hurting him! Oh, the joys that come along with wanting to be independent! So now it has been limited. I just dont enjoy sweating to death as I try to keep them calm! They have to be pretty hungry for us to go out and the timing has to be good!

 

It's great to know what you are all doing. We started taking ours out around 1 when my freind told me she did it all the time because she wanted them to know how to be well behaved in restaurants. So we did it and it worked. Here are my tips: We go early so they eat around the time they normally have dinner (4.30 for us). We go to this one restaurant that is kid freindly and never busy. We order fries staright away for them, they love them and it keeps them amused till we are almost finished wolfing our food down. I hate that they only eat fries but they get so excited as it's a yummy food they never have at home. We eat quick, quick, quick. i don't want them to get a taste for a restaurant meltdown. We have a big glass of wine each which is something to look forward to and dulls down any worry about other patrons and what they think. We are in and out within an hour which is a bit hard on your digestive tract but usually means they don't lose it. They have free reign of all the junk on the table...sugar satchels, drink coasters etc...We have not let them out of their high chairs, that would be a recipe for disaster.

 

mine have been going to restaurants since they were a week old (my mom just sold her restaurant so they pretty much were ALWAYS there!) but they've also been going to other restaurants as well...I find that I actually feed mine before we go out (since they are soooo picky and just because they LIKE chicken nuggets they may not like that restaurant's nuggets)...usually I bring their sippy's with me and will order milk or water for them, and I order them an applesauce or if we go to someplace like Chili's or to a Chinese restaurant where they have a snack (either the chips or the Chinese crispy noodles) they're good while we're out...they also play with the sugars, spoons, creamers etc...as well as toys or they people watch...oh and we don't let them out of the highchairs either...

 

i take my kids to restaurants...sometimes by myself..sometimes w/ others. i have the table mats that have elmo and sesame street characters on them, cheerios or some sort of crackers, water/milk...all these things keep them semi occupied...usually they are waving to everyone that is walking by. i don't usually bring toys because they will be tossed all over the place. i make sure to order their meal right away (unless i actually bring their meal)...i also make sure to tell the waitress to bring the check w/ the meal. if i think the kids might get fussy, i also tell her to bring a take out box...that way, i can get a semi-quick exit.

i always keep them in the highchair...can't imagine where they would run to if i let them out!!! sometimes, i might put one in my lap if they are super fussy...but i really try not to, because usually the other one wants to do it then.

good luck!

 

We take our kids out. But only to resturants that we deem "kid friendly". Basically a place that we feel ok if we make a big mess....cause we do! We keep our boys in their high chairs and somewhat keep them entertained. But we eat and run. We do not stay a long time.

 

Yes we take all 3 out. And I actually take them out on my own sometimes, or I did when I had more time. Not so much now. I learned that you just have to pay attention to them and keep a routine. When we sit down, the first thing I do when the waiter arrives is order the kids meals with our drinks and ask them to bring them as soon as they are done, not with OUR dinners. If they do not have chips like at the mexican place, I ask for saltines or bread. When they bring the drinks we order an appetizer or 2 for dinner. While we are waiting for food we eat chips, play games like who can find this or that? At 12 months I was playing peek a boo, find your belly button (then tickle it), teaching them to blow the paper off their straws, showing them how to put the straw into their cups(they loved trying to do this), showing them crayons, and playing with a play doh ball making worms and balls. We would also make a game out of trying to find our waiter. We never linger long once we have eaten. If they have been good, or me and DH want a refill on our drinks we will order kiddie sundaes.

Sorry, ETA We sit at a table for 4 with 2 high chairs on one of the sides. I think this helps keep them entertained too, sitting right next to their sibling.

 

I was terrified to take mine to a restaurant because of what might happen in there. I started taking them out with us when they were about 15ish months old and they do okay. It really depends on the day with mine. Sometimes everything goes great and they are so well behaved, other times...not so much. I do bring their sippies to fill with water from the restaurant and I bring cheerios.

 

We dont do dinner out very often, but we do lunch quite a bit. I would say probably twice a week. I/we dont take them out of their highchairs or strollers at all. They might sit on our lap but that is it. I take lots of snacks and order theirs along with their sisters first to get things going. And then when they finish I start throwing their favorite snacks and milk at them to keep them going while we finish...quickly.

 

We first took our kids out at 1 month old. One of the really important things to remember when you start using highchairs is that they should be non-negotiable. Since your little ones are used to being able to get out of their chairs at the restaurant, I'd start training them at home that they need to stay in their chairs until mealtimes is over.

Some things that helped us at that age (and with Dax now) were that we'd feed the kids while we waited for our food , give them finger foods (puffs, cheerios, etc.) while we ate, we had lots of little toys along with crayons and paper, we each focused on one baby, we never sat the babies next to each other, we always sat a table and not a booth, and we had hook-on highchairs that put them at the right height for the table.

As others said, definitely no appetizers or dessert until the girls were about 3.

 

We have always gone to restaurants and they do pretty well. The tips I have are not to let them out of the highchairs until you are done, and put them in the highchairs as soon as you are seated. Bring or ask for some crackers or bread, crayons and paper are great too. Personally, I don't ask for their food first because then they are done before we are.

 

We do go to restaurants... but don't let the kids run around.

We don't go anywhere that wouldn't be considered "family friendly" (Mexican, Red Robin, etc).

I have some special "restaurant only" toys that are seen rarely enough that they keep them somewhat occupied. The kids are also really into counting and pouring things now so I can keep them busy/distracted with a handful of cheerios and a few half-full glasses of water.

Depending on the weather/crowds we have had half the adults sit down (if going out with gparents) and the other half 'walk the kids" around outside/nearby during the wait for the food.

For the most part, though, the kids are expected (and relatively used to) getting int heir chairs from the time we are seated until the food comes.

My other tip is that I always make sure we go 'early' so that by the time the food arrives it is when they would normally eat. I would NEVER take hungry kids to a restaurant and expect it to go smoothly.

 

We take them out, usually 1-2 times a month. Normally it is Applebees or a breakfast place after church. But we have successfully taken them to Johnny Carino's and Outback Steakhouse too. They are generally well-behaved at the table and they do really well at restaurants.

We don't let them out of their chairs until we're ready to leave though. But they're okay with that, they color or "talk" to each other. DH and I have mastered the art of well-timed eating.

 

We've taken the girls out since they were 3 months old. We try to take them once a week or so. Now that their stranger anxiety is better it is much more pleasant but I know the time is coming when they will want to get out of their seat and roam, but I won't allow that. We're always prepared to pack up and leave if there is a meltdown, or DH will take the one upset outside for a minute. We usually pick loud places that can get food out fairly quickly.

 

I've always taken them out, but the occurance increased as they got older.

I always make sure to bring not just toys, but new toys. It keeps their interest longer. Something from the dollar store works well.

 

We took the girls out to a restaurant when they were 9 months old. They weren't badly behaved, but feeding them while trying to eat just wasn't any fun. We did not take them to a restaurant again until they were 2.5. (I almost forgot what restaurants were like in the interim, since we did not go out ourselves.) I have to say, I didn't miss it much, and we still go out only rarely.

We do tend to arrive early (but we eat early anyway, by most people's standards), and pick uncrowded times of day. In fact, I would rather stay home if the choice is anywhere that is going to have a wait. This is partly for me: where I live there aren't any restaurants where the food is so delicious it's worth spending time in a waiting room. I am thoroughly spoiled by DH's excellent cooking.