Eating Out With Young Kids: 5 Useful Tips

Image credit: ninjapoodles

Dining out is fun. It means you don’t have to cook, you get to sample exciting new dishes, and there’s no cleanup after the meal. But dining out with young kids can be challenging. Here are five tips to help you make the most out of eating out with your kids.

1. Set the ground rules BEFORE leaving the house. Explain to your kids that they are expected to use their “inside voices”, stay seated throughout the meal and in general be on their best behavior.

2. Pick a kid-friendly restaurant. You don’t need to limit yourself to fast food. There are plenty of quality restaurants that are very kid friendly, including a kids’ menu, coloring pages and crayons. If you’re not sure, it’s a good idea to ask while you’re making the reservation.

3. Bring entertainment for the kids. Even if the restaurant supplies kids with coloring pages and crayons, this might not be enough to keep them happy and occupied throughout the meal. When my kids were younger, I used to bring my own coloring books and crayons or sometimes notebooks for them to scribble on. Now that they’re a little older, a book and their iPod keep them happy. If they go through all their entertainment options, we love playing tongue twisters together.

4. Let them decide what they will eat (maybe with a little guidance from you if they’re very young) and order for themselves. It’s fun for them, since most kids don’t get too many choices in life. Being able to place their own food order and look the waiter in the eye when they do it is a great milestone for most elementary school kids.

5. While kids’ menus are great for toddlers, the food is usually bland and not very creative. As soon as your kids are a little older, consider allowing them to choose items from the main menu, on the condition that they share (since restaurant food portions are crazy these days).

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