The Lollipop Road

When planning an outing that involves dining out with young children, please ask yourself the following question: While waiting for our food to arrive, does my child a) listen intently to my every word while quietly playing with their toys, b) throw projectile objects like forks into the air to see how far they will go or c) body surf on the table while knocking everything onto the floor? If you answered yes to (b) or (c), then you’re not alone. In fact, you are just like us!

Everyone Better Duck!

The last couple of dinner outings have been a challenge. My youngest son, 17 months, has proved to be quite a handful at restaurants (see b and c above). Climbing on the table, throwing any and all objects within his grasp and the general mischievousness is really getting to us. It has been especially difficult because our oldest son is more like (a) above. Sure he plays with the occasional sugar packets and is constantly talking or asking questions, which can wear down anyone’s ability to remain calm, but at least he does TALK to us. We understand that this will promptly cease when he becomes a teenager. So, what do you do?

Unfortunately for us and for most other parents of babies, toddlers and preschoolers, we need to take clues from our children to determine where, when, and most importantly, how often we dine out. We figured our second child would be trouble when he kept tipping sideways in his bouncy seat at the ripe old age of 7 days. For weeks I thought I was just crazy because our first son never “flew” out of his seat! Our newborn was quickly nicknamed bee-bop or bopper for short and the rest is history.

When my oldest was just over a year, he and I would travel to see daddy, who was working out of state at the time. I used to think that we couldn’t sit at a restaurant because he would cry when I put him in a highchair. Then one day, tired of having to eat in the cramped car, I let my little guy stand next to me on the bench seat. And it actually worked! Sure the first couple of times he was a little rambunctious, but he eventually settled down. And I could finally relax a little myself. As it turns out, he just wanted to sit right next to me (as he does to this day!).

When our second child came along, somehow I knew things would be different. This little dude is all about action…a future hockey player, perhaps? But, right now we’re just trying to figure out dinner. We could put him in a highchair until about 14 months and then he wanted out, and out he got. No matter how we strapped him in, he managed to climb out. In about 5 seconds, my little cherub would go from seated and happily eating to standing in his chair and laughing at my silliness for thinking I could keep him strapped in.

Sadly for us, we must be very careful when choosing a restaurant with “bopper”. I don’t just mean finding a family friendly establishment either. I’m referring to locating a place that has few breakables, tolerates the occasional throwing of projectiles and has wide tables for body surfing. Oh, and we haven’t even discussed the food yet.

So how do you know what type of restaurant you can go to with your child/ren when you’re on vacation? Honestly, it’s a little bit of trial and error, knowing your child and their temperament and some well-timed disciplinary actions thrown in with a little bit (okay, a lot) of luck. Some children can sit and behave at a very upscale restaurant at a very young age and even use adult glasses with care (our first was like this). Then there are the rest of the children who vary in their destructive abilities (our second being very destructive). Sometimes you have to eat out when traveling, but is it worth it?

While it’s important to bring toys and/or activities while dining out, these items can only go so far (sometimes up to 5 feet!). If the weather and location permits, order take-out (or stop at the local supermarket) and go to a local park for a picnic. Of course, my kids love to eat in the hotel room where they can cause maximum destruction. We have also noticed that dining out with “extra” people can make a tremendous difference in your dining experience too. I think it may be a combination of distractions for the children as well as letting go of some of the responsibility so it is not so overwhelming for any one person. Do your best, try new things and understand that their restaurant manners will get better in time. I’m not exactly sure how long this phase will last, but by the looks of it, we’ll need to keep the local take-out menus handy for quite a while.

Disclosure

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