Mom's Talk - What About Eating Out?

When we asked our Moms what they thought about bringing their kids out to eat we got a wide range of answers from etiquette to menu choices. Here's what they said:

Mom #1

I did not mind eating out with my children when they were very tiny. Now they are more of a pain about it. They complain about the food, do not want to sit through long meals, and we can never go anywhere that makes everyone happy. If we are going to a nice restaurant, we get a babysitter. When we do go out, it is always to kid-friendly places. A few of my favorites are the Silver Diner, Japanese Hibachi, and Outback. The majority of the time we eat “out” it is fast food because of time. That usually means McDonalds, Chick-fil-A or Subway. My favorite place for the kids has to be the Silver Diner on Tuesday nights. They have a great kids menu all the time, including gluten-free options, and on Tuesday they offer kids activities. The kids can enjoy the craft or fun things that are going on and my husband and I can have a few minutes of peace.

Mom #2

We always took our kids out to dinner with us, even from the time they were little; and they ate wherever and whatever we liked to eat. If you don’t ever take them to Chuck E. Cheese, they won’t know it’s there. And, yes, we did stop at McDonald’s when we were in a rush, but I don’t consider that “dining out.” In turn, my kids had wonderful restaurant manners (even as little ones), and they love to order interesting things off the menu besides chicken nuggets and French Fries. I think all places are kid friendly if your children are well-behaved, as long as the parents don’t let their kids have the run of the place.

Mom #3

Our daughter was 2 weeks old when she had her first restaurant outing. I was dying to get out of the house, so we thought, why not? It went well—she slept the entire time. We've been taking her out to eat ever since. In this area, there seem to be very few places where we didn't feel comfortable taking her. The majority of the sit-down restaurants in the suburbs are family-friendly chains or local family-based establishments. We carted her around from an early age to Mike's American Grill to our favorite Chinese restaurant.

There was a period of time however, from about two years old to three years old that she would not sit still for longer than 20 minutes. When take-out got boring, I decided it was time to improve my cooking skills.

At 10 years old, our daughter is accustomed to sitting in a restaurant for about an hour while we have a family meal. She is not permitted to run around the aisles. Most restaurants that cater to families provide items to entertain the kids, from crayons and coloring paper to pizza dough for squishing and sculpting. And if you don't mind the rowdy crowd, Kid's Night at Silver Diner is a fun way to spend a weeknight meal.

Mom #4

I like to take my children to places where there is a lot of activity or cool things to look at and a place that has call ahead seating. Places like PF Chang's, Uno Grill and Red Robin are some of our go to places. All three have lots to see in their restaurants and offer healthy and child friendly menus. They also have fruit, vegetables and whole grain options on their menus. And they don't get offended if you want to split one meal between your two children. These restaurants offer perks for little ones, like easy to use chop sticks at PF Chang's or make your own pizza, apron at Uno. I don't dare take my children to places where it is quiet—we make a lot of noise. We must eat at a place like Chili's where the food comes out quickly, not places where everything is made to order. We try to stay away from places that only offer junk food to children like McDonald's or other restaurants where a healthy menu for children is an after thought.

Mom #5

My daughter was born in the month of July and went to her first baseball game in August so she's been out and about from the beginning. The first year was a great time for us to eat out in casual restaurants because my daughter was pretty content in her carrier and not itching to get out. It did get harder when she wasn't keen on sitting still very long and we didn't eat out that much for a few years. Learn from my experience, don't take an 18-month-old to Maggiano's Little Italy, even if it is family style dining. We just tried to use common sense and stick to restaurants where we knew kids were welcome, although I was shocked once when a woman complained at McDonald's that our group was too noisy (they weren't; we learned she just didn't like kids, we learned.) My rule of thumb is, if I'm going to an expensive or adult restaurant for a special night without my child, I don't want someone else’s child annoying me. Children don't have to go everywhere adults go. But even if it's a family restaurant, don't let your kids run around or wail excessively. Kids need to go out and should go out but we still won't take our now 12 year old to a restaurant we frequent because she doesn't like seafood and we enjoy sitting at the bar.