Is eating out at a restaurant a nightmare for the rest of you?

Okay, I'm definately venting here...

Our girls are 18 months old every time we try to eat out at a restaurant, its pretty much a disaster. Neither of us are able to eat our meals and our girls are either grabbing everything insight or squirming and whinning. It is probably one of the worst things I can imagine going to do with the babies. Does any one else experience this....and when does it get better?

 

Going out to eat with my boys was a breeze! They were totally awesome!

And then...we had Annabella. :faint: She is soooo much work when we go out. She's 2 years, 1 month and she's still a lot of work. We have to keep her constantly entertained. If she wants something, she wanted it yesterday. She throws crayons, colors on the table vs the paper, and wants wants wants. Don't get me wrong, sometimes she is totally awesome when we go out to eat. If something doesn't go her way-we are in trouble! Oy! I have an ipod touch, and I will tell you, I hate hate hate to use it, but I do with her when desperate. Especially if we are out and things take too long, etc. It came in handy when we were in Italy, and we would go out to eat at 9 PM! She should have been in bed, so if I had to put a video on for her, so be it. It is the absolute last thing I take out.

So, my advice is, go to family friendly restaurants. Don't take them out of the highchairs and walk around(or at least not consistently). That's going to teach them that they can do that and get up and walk around-because that is what happens when they get loud, etc. I bring plenty of little snacks for her to eat-even treats-like m&m's if I have to. She really likes to sing songs, so that is distracting as well. Or, looking around the restaurant and count lights, tables, chairs, etc. See if they can find any other babies, etc.

Basically-don't give up. Give it time. Or go out with just one of them. Point out kids who are sitting nicely. Order their food first. Although, I hate that too because by the time we get ours, they are done and ready to leave! LOL! You can never win!

Whatever you do-good luck! And hang in there!

 

Oh yeah, at that age we could not take the twins out to a restaurant and enjoy ourselves. It does get better. I think it was more manageable when the were 2 and 1/2. We have a 19 month old now and we just don't eat out unless it is fast food because we don't have much time before she wants to start running around. But yes, do go to family friendly restaurants and bring something along that might keep them occupied.

 

I'm a believer in practice makes perfect. Our girls had been taken since they were little. We got lots of compliments on how well behaved they were and how well ate with a fork

 

Our boys don't misbehave really, they just get restless REALLY fast. And with their soy intolerance, I don't let them eat food unless I prepare it, so they can't even eat with us. So we pretty much don't take them out unless there are other family members also there who can help keep them happy.

 

We take ours out every Friday and have for a while now. They are not good. They have tipped over a table at a pizza joint which broke a parm cheese bottle all over the floor. This was 1 outing. They are incrementally getting better. Slowly. I do have DH take them on a walk after we order- it helps them sit for a bit when the food comes.

 

My guys seemed to do remarkably well...until recently, the last two times we went out to eat they got restless rather quickly. The one place ran out of high chairs, so we had to use booster chairs (and try to keep them from falling out)...that was tricky, within minutes -one was standing, the other was sucking on the salt shaker...it seemed the table wasn't big enough for us to keep everything out of their reach. Today we stepped it down a notch and went to Pizza Hut (pretty family friendly), they threw sippy cups on the floor, spit out their pasta, whined, one poked himself in the face fighting over a knife with me (again he grabbed it before I could). It was family friendly, they had plenty of high chairs, and didn't seem to mind the noise. I also try to do a good job of cleaning up our mess. I am usually on my hands and knees picking up the large chunks of food that were spit out or thrown, and we try to leave good tips so they don't hate us. But it is definitely getting harder...and I think it will continue to until it gets easier. Oh, they are 12months.

 

dinner is finally getting to be a better experience at 3 yrs old... but we've gone out for Breakfast almost weekly and breakfast is a better time of day for us... yes, practice makes perfect!

 

Our guys do ok. It's getting harder as they're getting older. But we take puffs, curls (they're favorite, so that keeps them occupied for a while), Cheerios, etc to give to them while we're waiting. And we give them to the boys 1 or 2 puffs at a time. Sippy cups drive me crazy because they constantly throw them on the floor. I usually give them back twice before I take the sippy cups away for good. What drives me to most crazy is when the server takes forever with the check! The boys are full, so they start to get restless. I feel like we did our part by keeping them calm and occupied during dinner- do your part and get us the check quickly so we can get out of there before they melt down! I agree with going to family friendly restaurants. We like to go to Friendlys, Red Robin, Pizza Hut, etc.

 

Our guys were great as babies, then they got to about 1 1/2, and were horrible. We stopped taking them out for about a year, at 2 1/2-3 they got much better. I think the break was good, because it was just frustrating for all of us. We still did pizza at the mall, McDonalds and that kind of stuff for lunch. But we skipped the going out for dinner during that time. It took until they had a longer attention span for them to be better about sitting.

 

I agree with the PP's...practice makes perfect. When my kids were younger, I would bring cheerios for something for them to snack on while we waited and also would bring small toys for them to play with while we waited. Even at their age now, I will make sure to put in the kids food order when we put in our drink order, so they aren't waiting as long for their food. It does get better!

 

We have done it a few times at a very kid-friendly place, but DO NOT choose to do it often. The few times have gone pretty well actually, but there has been throwing when they don't want something, fussing when they want to get up, and general mess that it is not enjoyable. DH and I, like you, have to shovel our food in or do not get a chance to eat. I find this age tough in terms of many things... feeding/eating, fighting, whining, etc.

When we plan to go out to a restaurant, we go just the two of us. I can't see spending money just to have a stressful time with two toddlers. I am sure other patrons appreciate this too . There will be plenty of time for eating out with them later.

 

We've only tried it once when our guys were very small, but you've all inspired me to try it again. Maybe if we do it more regularly they will handle it better as they get older. They always do really well when we take them to visit friends and family, so they are good in new and busy environments. I'm hoping it will be smooth sailing. I already told DH we have to try it this weekend.

 

We never tried it at all (except for one brunch when they were around 9 months) until they were 13 months. Then we went to a very family-friendly Mexican restaurant, and it was pretty much a nightmare. I think DH and I each had time to gobble our food and drink half a beer, but that was it!

I don't think we tried eating in a restaurant again until they were at least 2.

Now they are 5.5 and it's a lot better obviously, but still challenging sometimes! Kids are just not naturally good at sitting still. But practicing a lot does help -- as does going to places they like, and occasionally leaving when they misbehave (just to make it clear that that is an option!).

 

I am a believer that practice helps. We started around 8 or 9 months going out. Now, they are awesome eating out. We just make sure we dont go somewhere with more than a 5-10 min wait and places that are slower. We try to find family friendly places as well as steakhouses (its loud). Overall I was so hesitant to go and we did it one night and we go out at least once a week now!
Most places give crayons and paper and that keeps them occupied as well!! Bring distractions

 

We tried it a few times around that age and gave up. It was not enjoyable. We kept trying every 3 months or so. I think a lot has to do with the child's age and temperment. My twins are now 3. My DD can sit through any meal at a restaurant and behave well. My son has a hard time sitting still. He tries hard, but he's done after about 15 minutes. We go out now, but only casual restaurants where you can order at the counter. I don't think we could make it through a meal with table service.

 

It depends but mine are pretty good, as long as I am feeding them. We chose family freindly places always. I bring snacks but I also order to cover them. Even though I don't want the dinner special at the diner I order it so they can have to rolls and crackers. Or I can feed them the sour or salad as we wait for our meals to come. It is easier with other people to help but we do go out alone. We have been complimented many times on how quiet and well behaved they are.

 

If it makes you feel any better, I recently told my husband that we were not taking the kids out to eat again until they are 18. On our last outing to a small italian restaurant, I finally left early wearing a white blouse covered in tomato sauce and carrying a screaming 18 month old. My son was also covered in tomato sauce. There was tomato sauce on the booth and on the WALL. I seriously wanted to die of embarassment. I had a little pity party for myself in the car while waiting for my DH and the other two kids. Honestly, it just might not be worth it. Of course, we are going out again tonight - some people never learn

 

We have always taken ours out. I found that, for us, breakfast was the best meal for practice. They tended to be happiest and hungriest. We have always enforced the rules, and they are really great now when we go out.

 

I dont take them out to eat. Ever. Maybe when they are older but with my oldest almost 4 and the twins almost 2, it's just way to hectic.

 

We go out to eat regularly and I'm ready to call it quits for a while. It's not fun. Dh likes going but but be isn't as stressed at meal time as I am.

 

My guys are 18 months, and we started taking them out to eat around 12 months. We only take them out to lunch on the weekends. We only go to places like Jason's Deli or Panera where you order at the counter and they bring it quickly. I wouldn't dream of going anywhere we had to wait for a waiter yet. They get up from their nap at 1:30-2pm, so we miss the lunch rush. (You couldn't pay me to take them out for dinner. I'm 110% certain it would be a disaster.) I always bring lots of snacks and settle in with them while DH orders. I'll sing quietly & talk about what we see until the food comes. When we first started, it was definitely not enjoyable for me & DH. We crammed down our food in between feeding them, and there was a HUGE mess on the floor at the end. Each time it gets better, and yesterday was the best yet. DH & I actually had a conversation (that wasn't about feeding them!), and there was hardly any food on the floor (not the case at home!) It's starting to maybe, almost be enjoyable.

 

Like several PPs, my guys were fine going out to eat until they were about 18 months, and then it became a nightmare. We actually started taking them out to breakfast when they were first cleared to go out in public (they were preemies), which was about 4 months after they were born. We never had a problem when they were tiny (they mostly slept), and as they got older they were interested enough in the new surroundings to be good for the entire meal.

As we got to about 18 months, they got super grabby with everything; we couldn't keep them in their seats, they were climbing on the tables, pulling all the sugar packets out of the holder, etc. :gah: Now that they're 3 they're starting to get better, but they definitely have a short-attention span and we can't linger over a meal.

Here are some of my restaurant survival tips:

Go to loud, family-friendly restaurants. Screaming will be less noticeable there.
Try to clean up as much as possible, and tip well.
Bring special toys that they don't get to play with at home. We have a set of Matchbox cars that stayed in the diaper bag, and only got brought out at restaurants.
Have the server bring the bill when the food comes so you can pay as soon as you're done eating.
Bring sippy cups. You can buy milk at the restaurant to pour into them if you don't feel right bringing your own milk, but do not under any circumstances let them use styrofoam cups with lids and straws. This has been our biggest source of mess and meltdown.
When all else fails, always have an exit strategy.

 

Ok, so we sort of went out to eat twice over the weekend. I say "sort of" because neither place involved a server. We went to a sandwich place where you order at the counter, and it was kind of crowded, but we both felt like the boys did really well. They ate a ton and were well-behaved. The second lunch was at the food court in the mall. We got them a sandwich (again) to share and they did really well. So far so good, but we're still 6 months away from the 18-month point where you guys are saying it gets hard. One thing I'm noticing is that the boys love to look at other people eating and stare and smile. They're too young to understand "don't stare" and thankfully everyone thought they were just being cute so people smiled and waved. I hope they don't choose to stare at someone grumpy next time!

 

My hubby is in the Air Force and we had just moved to a new state when I had the girls so we never had a chance to really make friends and I didn't trust random strangers to watch them. So whenever we went out to eat, the girls came with us from the time they got out of the hospital. Over the course of a couple years that adds up to a lot of restaurant visits. They always did pretty good but at times would be fussy, making messes, etc. I never let it bother me. Plenty of people go out to eat with their kids and I always felt better when I saw other parents with small children at the restaurants. When they got big enough to be out of their carseats, they would use high chairs or booster seats, most of them had straps so I didn't have to worry about them climbing out. When they did, we didn't make a big deal out of it, as long as they stayed at our table and didn't stray. It also helps to go to places that are busier/noiser so that the kids don't draw so much attention even if they do throw fits or what not. I don't think we ever really took them to "fancy" places, but the places we did go, we never had anyone say anything rude to us and the staff were always helpful. There is no way I could have given up eating out, it was my one form of entertainment for awhile! LOL