Before the Meal:
Once we’ve arrived inside a restaurant, we face a whole new world: one where anything can happen—and typically does. Having a “bag of tricks” that includes crackers or other small finger foods to keep young diners occupied can help keep everyone sane. Hunger and boredom are explosive combinations. Sitting your child facing a window where they can look out at the people, cars, and trucks on the street can be a wonderful distraction.
Try to encourage your child to make friends with the waiter or waitress, such as saying, “Our waitress has a ponytail, you have one too!” or “What do you think the waiter had for dinner tonight?” This helps children appreciate the social experience of eating out, while taking their mind off their increasingly hungry stomach. Not to mention, it helps get the waitstaff on your side! Ordering your child’s meal when you sit down, or at least getting an appetizer going, can be a good diversion for children and can also ward off hunger.
There are different views about letting children out of their seat to walk around the restaurant while waiting for food to arrive. While doing so enables children to stretch their legs and burn off a little steam before the meal, it may also result in potential hazards if they walk into waiters carrying large trays filled with hot food (not to mention disapproving looks from other diners who may have trouble seeing your children’s developmentally appropriate, but socially annoying behavior as “cute”). Young children are creatures of habit—if they walk around at one restaurant, they are going to want, and expect, to do the same at others.
Try to keep your child in her seat for as long as possible by using diversion tactics until the meal arrives. If you have to get up and walk, an outside stroll that doesn’t interfere with other diners is a safer bet than letting your child walk inside the restaurant.
During the Meal:
At last, the food has arrived. To help the meal go smoothly, the adults at the table should try to be involved in meal management. If your child demands constant attention, take turns so one of the adults can eat while the other attends to the child. And remember: always have a stash of napkins within arm’s reach!
If your child flings pieces of chicken tenders that land at the next table, apologize to those diners for your child’s pitching skills (here’s where a parent’s sense of humor really comes in handy), and handle the situation with your child just as you would if it happened at home. Remember that children crave consistency, and this means that if reprimanding is what you do at home, do it at the restaurant as well.
What do you do when your child screams, “I’m done. No more food. Time to go home” at the top of her lungs? Take that as your exit cue, ask politely for the bill, and start packing up. At this point, as is often the case in parenthood, quit while you’re ahead.
