Most parents enjoy dining out with toddlers. Occasionally parents are embarrassed by the tantrums thrown by their little ones while eating out. Surrounded by so many strangers, your child might dislike the ambiance in the restaurant. Many small children hate the idea of sitting quietly in the same place for a long time. Fortunately, these problems subside with age. Nonetheless, with the right strategy you can help your child develop the appropriate restaurant manners.
Do’s
1. Opt for a child friendly restaurant
Make sure that the environment inside a restaurant does not scare the kid. Most big cities have several child-friendly eateries with menus appropriate for children. If you cannot find a child friendly restaurant in your neighborhood, select one that has private booths where your child can eat with ease. If possible, make a reservation so that your child is seated as soon as he/she arrives there.
2. Teach your child table manners
Teaching children table manners is perhaps the most difficult task for parents, who plan to take them to restaurants for lunch or dinner. Toddlers will not learn manners overnight. It requires enough patience on the part of the parents. A carrot and stick rule occasionally works for toddlers. However, with regular practice, by cajoling the child to follow the table manners at home during meals, you can help your child develop the right manners.
3. Encourage sit-down meals at home
Usually foods are served several minutes after placing the order. This common restaurant ritual can bore a child. To enhance your dining out experience with your small child accustom your child to sit-down meals at home. Call your child to the table few minutes before the meal is served. Encourage your child to sit for a little while and chat after he/she has finished eating. Once your child becomes used to this simple ritual, waiting for foods in the restaurant will no longer bore him.
4. Eat out at usual meal times
To help your child enjoy the meal, consider visiting a restaurant at your normal meal time. Small children are extremely irritated when they are hungry. Give your child a small snack or a small meal at home before visiting the restaurant. Before the foods are served, ask for an appetizer that can be promptly served to the kid.
5. Bring toys
Bring few quiet toys that will keep the child occupied until the foods are served.
6. Remind the restaurant manners
Before bringing the toddler to the restaurant, remind the child all his/her table manners.
Don’ts
1. Don’t force your child to eat
Although you might select the appropriate food for your child, your child might dislike a particular food. In such as case, don’t force him/her to eat. A restaurant is not the appropriate place for correcting the eating preference of kids. To avoid tantrums, ask your child to eat only the familiar foods. A simple trick to make your child try new foods is to order several food items. Ask your child to try new foods and tell him/her that if he/she dislikes a particular food, he/she can stop eating and move to another item. When given the liberty to try new foods, children often end up being more adventurous with foods.
2. Don’t extend your post meal conversation
Children are usually eager to leave the restaurant after they have finished eating. To reduce the irritation of a child, who is forced to sit in one place after the meal has ended, adults should shorten their post meal conversation and leave the restaurant as early as possible.
3. Leave the restaurant if the kid misbehaves
If you can’t control your child’s tantrums, to calm the kid briefly take him/her outside the restaurant or to the restroom. If the child is still cranky, leave the restaurant with stuffed doggie bags. However, these unwelcome incidents should not deter you from visiting restaurants in the near future with your small children. By encouraging your children to practice the basic manners at home you can soon return to the restaurant with your kids.
4. Avoid unrealistic expectations
Eating out with kids is not the same as eating out with adults. Small children can’t exhibit their best manners. Despite your best efforts in teaching the child the right restaurant manners, it is unrealistic to expect the toddler to sit quietly for a long time and talk slowly. They can play or walk around a little. And if you allow these small concessions, you as well as your child will enjoy the visits to the restaurants.
