Dining Out with Children:
Fun or Not So Fun? That is the Question.
Here are some tips to help your child become
restaurant-ready.
Start your child out at family restaurants
such as McDonald’s. And teach your child their manners here where a screaming child
is just part of the crowd. After each learning goal is reached, move up to
Denny’s, then CoCo’s, and so on.
Approach your eating out as you would a meal.
The appetizer, the entrée, and the dessert (my personal favorite) must all be equally
satisfying. Careful planning before, during, and after eating out will make your experience
enjoyable.
| 1. Plan your outings when your
children are at their best, not during naptime or their normal fussy hour. |
| 2. Go early enough so you
won’t have to wait to be seated, and try to be seated by the window or door so your
child will have lots of interesting things to watch. |
| 3. Most restaurants provide
crayons but to be on the safe-side, bring a little bag with quite activities. |
| 4. Before leaving home,
discuss with your child that shouting and running aren’t allowed and that they must
use their quiet voice. |
| 5. Let your child decide
what they would like from the menu and encourage them to order it themselves. |
| 6. For good behavior, offer your child a treat. (They don’t have
to know the dessert was included with the meal.) |
Remember that a
restaurant-ready child wasn’t born. They had wonderfully patient parents who taught
them all they need to know about eating at a restaurant.
Good luck and easycook.com looks forward to meeting you and your child at our favorite restaurant soon! |