Do your kids eat of the table?

Whenever we go out to eat, my boys sit at the table with us in a highchair and eat their food right off the table.

Ok, let me back up and say that I've tried the suction-cup place mat and the plastic disposable place mats that stick to the table. Both of which end up on the floor or create a big mess because half-way through the meal the boys will think its hilarious to rip them off the table to play with and food goes flying. So, we've resorted to wiping the table down with an anti-bacterial wipe and letting them eat right off the restaurant table.

The other night while eating out, DH was asking me if other people do this and frankly, I wasn't sure because I've never seen any other kids doing this while eating out! I'd love for them to NOT eat directly off the table, but the place mats are just not working for us!

What do you when you are out to eat?

 

We had the suction mats that worked for awhile and when we outgrew that we just had them eat off the table. A lady stopped us once, just mortified that we did it that way. I told her they eat things off the floor too when I am not looking, so I look at this as a step up!

 

Kate,

I got a chuckle from your post because my boys do the same thing!

 

They have ... but usually I just fed them from my plate. Now we just get an extra plate.

 

It's been known to happen. They are really into eating off of plates like grown ups at the moment, so we don't currently have this issue.

 

We rarely take them out, but when we do they eat off a plate or out of their baby bowl which has the suction cup on the bottom. We try to team them up with an adult when we go out to keep them from tossing too much on the floor. If you use an antibacterial wipe on the table I wouldn't worry too much about it.

 

Yes, they often do. We do give them plates and try to get them to keep the food on the plates, but it's just too much of a battle. I figure the restaurant wipes the tables down with some kind of bleach or ammonia between diners, and it's probably cleaner than our table at home. Anyway, I don't care about germs. I even let them chew on the shopping cart.

 

I do both. If my kids are really hungry I wipe it down with an antibacterial wipe and let them eat off the table. Or I do use the plastic place mats. Mine havent really figured out how to rip it off yet but I know thats coming.

 

Well, we use the disposable place mats, and so far the kids have not realized they can rip them off and have fun with them... lol

In your case, though, it doesn't seem like you have an alternative, and we have done the same thing on outings where I took a different diaper bag that didn't have the place mats in it - I will say we got some "odd" looks from people that sort of pissed me off, like it was unsanitary - well, I figure as long as I am wiping it down, that's about all I can do and they've been exposed to far worse things, I'm sure.

My other thought is if you have those Fisher Price Booster Seats that you can literally attach to a chair? We have two of those and we use them at home as the kids high chairs because we are tight on space - we have taken those to restaurants on occasion and just strapped them onto the restaurant chairs. It's a pain to tote them around, though.

Anyway, you can see you are not alone... we do what we gotta do.

 

We're often at real classy places that have those paper place mats, so they would usually eat off of that, or a paper napkin. Once they got a bit older and I was reasonably certain they wouldn't fling dishes on the floor, they got their food on plates or bowls. They have eaten right off the table before.

 

No we never have. When they were little we would feed them off our plates, get them their own plate or at worst lay a napkin down & place food on that.

 

Being a bartender at a upscale restaurant I see my share of kids although we are not on par with a Chuck-e-Cheese. We have a few high chairs and such but are not really kid prepared. Parents bring in all sorts of place mats and dishes for their children which is fine. Eating off the table however is perfectly acceptable. Being a dad of four including newborn twins I am the biggest advocate and educator of our young and mainly single staff on how to move candles, salt/pepper shakers, shared appetizers out of the reach of the young ones and also encourage them not to set our fine china in front of small children directly. Hand the plates to the parents and let them tell you if their toddler is a "plate flinger" or a "future frisbee player."

As far as eating off the table it is your prerogative. You will almost always get a sideways glance and occasional comment from other diners about your choice of what surface they eat off of, but as long as you are doing your best to keep the meal contained to the table and your lil' ones content and happy you should have nothing to worry about. It goes without saying that most service staff members and parents could use some guidance on how to better coexist with each other but common sense and courtesy are always the best guidelines.

nodnarB!
The Bartending Dad

 

We fought the battle (and won). Ours used placemats and then plates and they do fine with it. It did take several stressful meals to get them there and we started with only a few bites on their mat at a time so it wouldn't be a huge loss if we didn't catch them in time.

 

Um YUCK, no way. The water and rags they clean the benches and floor with they use on the table. Unless you wipe it, rinse it and dry it yourself they are consuming a lot of germs. If they are having a bad day (plate or food throwing etc) they get fed a bite at a time.

 

We eat off the table also. I tried the disposable mats which worked for awhile, but like your kids, mine discovered that ripping them off the table was equally as fun as eating. We have just progressed to using a plate when one is available but sometimes we are cutting and tossing food to them as quickly as possible (yes, we have trained seals here :shok: :lol: ) so that means food on the table. I do wipe it done most of the time, but honestly sometimes that doesn't even happen. I agree with PP...my guys eat off the floor if I don't stop them, so this is definitely a step up.

Shannon

 

I'm looking forward to the day they will use plates...without flinging them off the table!

QUOTE
sometimes we are cutting and tossing food to them as quickly as possible (yes, we have trained seals here
Hmmm...this sounds an awful lot like meal time for us!!!

 

[SIZE=12pt]our twins did this for a while, we tried laying an open napkin down and it worked pretty good but usually ended up in the floor. Id always carry antibacterial wipes with me to wipe off the table. Thanks goodness right around 20 months they started using plates really well lol[/SIZE]

 

WE do it all the time! I have a bag of antibacterial wipes and wipe down the table before they eat. We tried using plates but got tired of searching for them under the table next to us. (Got wierd looks from the customers who were trying to eat while we were under their feet!!!)

 

I fully understand if i'm being an idiot here but I was under the impression those antibacterial wipes are not safe for ingestion. That means you would need to rinse the table off after you wipe it to make it safe to serve food on. I also wouldn't wipe a pacifier or sippy cup with it and hand it to a child... again I could just not be thinking!

 

We used to let the girls eat right off the table because all the place mats and plates we tried ended up on the floor. When they got older we were able to teach them to eat off a plate. "Just say NO" LOL

 

QUOTE(nodnarB! @ Mar 18 2008, 03:43 PM) [snapback]674647[/snapback]
Being a dad of four including newborn twins I am the biggest advocate and educator of our young and mainly single staff on how to move candles, salt/pepper shakers, shared appetizers out of the reach of the young ones and also encourage them not to set our fine china in front of small children directly.

On behalf of parents of toddlers everywhere, I thank you! I'm always amazed how many people will put a set of silverware (including knives) or a hot plate directly in front of my kids. I have great sympathy for wait staff, but a lot of them obviously don't spend much time around small children.

 

QUOTE
I fully understand if i'm being an idiot here but I was under the impression those antibacterial wipes are not safe for ingestion. That means you would need to rinse the table off after you wipe it to make it safe to serve food on. I also wouldn't wipe a pacifier or sippy cup with it and hand it to a child... again I could just not be thinking!


I get what you are thinking and I have thought about that as well. I wouldn't wipe their sippy spout with them either but when we are out to eat and I use them to wipe the table, I make sure it is completely dry before I sit them down and let them touch the table or eat off of. In my mind, once its dry, its probably ok and since they aren't directly licking the table or have the wipe in their mouth, I feel pretty good that its safe. Plus, I use the Handi Wipe Anti-bac wipes, not the Clorax household cleaner-type wipes, for this purpose.

that being said, if anyone has info to the contrary, I'd be interested to hear it (re: the safety of using anti-bac wipes).

 

QUOTE(Minette @ Mar 18 2008, 04:04 PM) [snapback]675415[/snapback]
On behalf of parents of toddlers everywhere, I thank you! I'm always amazed how many people will put a set of silverware (including knives) or a hot plate directly in front of my kids. I have great sympathy for wait staff, but a lot of them obviously don't spend much time around small children.


No problem. I realize that I am certainly in the minority as far a my profession goes. I considered starting an open discussion for parents that have questions or comments about restaurant issues/solutions. Lord knows I am the biggest critic and champ of restaurants and servers that take care of families. Treat me well and believe me you will receive more than fair compensation. Roll your eyes at us and treat us like second class citizens and I have no problem informing you that I walk in your shoes daily and that all guests deserve to be treated fairly.

It is still a two way street though. Some parents are as rude and inconsiderate as the sub-par servers that have given them reason to feel so entitled.

 

We did used to do suction bowl/plate but they never stick well onto table at restaurant. I tried the disposable mats which worked for awhile, but mine discovered that ripping them off the table was equally as fun as eating. At 15 months they did threw food onto the floor at home as we rarely go out to dinner. I stay consistent by telling them, no throwing food on the floor. If they did, I take their food away and return it to them. After a few times they seem to understand but they do it when they are in the "mood". They are getting closer to 18 months and they have stop throwing food onto the floor and start eating everything off the paper plate. And I do take the paper plate away as soon they are done.

Tip: I have a small basket bin that I leave in the Van for restaurant outing such as disposable mat, anti bacterial wipe, stain wipes for clothes, plastic spoon and fork, cut the straw shorter in length, 2 back-up sippy cup, small toys, and paper plate. On those days I take them out to the restaurant I just take what I need to put in my diaper bag. I love the idea of doing paper plate because I can throw them out! The clean up is so much EASIER!

Diana w/Rianna and Justin (almost 18 mos)

 

We always used those stick on mats, the variety that had tape around all 4 sides worked best. Now we just let them eat off a plate.

 

We used the four-sided sticky mats for a while - they were never able to pull those up. When we didn't have them with us for whatever reason we did wipe down the table with an anti-bacterial wipe. We too went through the throwing food stage so a napkin, coloring page, or plate would not work. Fortunately, we have outgrown that! The boys (happily) eat off a plate now!

I WANT TO BE PART OF THE RESTAURANT DISCUSSION - high chairs that are reliable and have safety belts that work are much needed!!!!!!