Tips for Eating Out with a Toddler

With busy lives and no access to magic wands, more often than not, there is no hot meal waiting on the table when we get home from our over-scheduled day. We eat out a minimum of 3 times a week at various restaurants. We normally don't go to fancy places, just nice family restaurants like On the Border, Olive Garden, and TGI Friday's, but we are able to get out of the house for a nice meal that I don't have to cook or clean up after. Here are some tips I've come up with to make eating out with a toddler an enjoyable experience.

Choose the restaurant wisely

Granted there are going to be times you will have to take your toddler to a restaurant not of your choosing (mom's birthday, meeting friends, etc.) but most of the time this is your call. Choose a restaurant that provides fast service, kid friendly food, and lots of background noise. Most family chain restaurants fit this bill nicely.

Order as soon as you sit down

Soon after being seated the waiter will usually come over with the bread basket and ask to take your drink order; I suggest placing your food order at this time, too. We even have a few restaurants in our town that we call ahead and place our order, then they either have our food ready and waiting on our table when we arrive, or shortly thereafter.

Bring a bag of tricks

I keep 3 bags of tricks in the car for this purpose. The bags contains small toys, stickers, paper, markers, etc. I rotate a different one out for each restaurant meal, this keep my toddler occupied before the food arrives, and after he eats his 3 bites and says he is done. He can continue playing while my husband and I finish our meal.

Don't go at naptime or bedtime

There is nothing worse than a cranky toddler, except perhaps a cranky toddler at a restaurant. While all children have the occasional moment, if your child has a meltdown, don't make the other diners listen. Be respectful of others, take your child outside, sit down with them until they calm down, then go back inside and finish your meal. If in fact, you find yourself out at naptime or bedtime, and there is not calming your child down, except the situation for what it is, consider it a learning experience, and have your meal boxed up to take home.

If you follow these suggestions chances are you will have pleasant dining experiences with your toddler most of the time. Never leave your dining experience up to chance, be prepared. But remember, even with the best of intentions and planning, sometimes dining out with a toddler just isn't going to happen. This is okay. Even the best parents have carried a screaming toddler out of a restaurant, just keep your cool, and remember "this too shall pass".