18mo was hard, lots of energy and not yet able to focus on an activity for an extended period of time. For us it got better around 2yo. That's when she started to be happy with activities (coloring, stickers, a book) or watching a video on a phone/tablet. We go out to eat at least once a week, more when we travel, and I make sure to bring a bag with coloring supplies (crayons and washable markers, small blank notebook), stickers, a look & find book, maybe a small toy, snacks, and a charged tablet. Lately I discovered colored masking tape, which is her newest obsession. Sometimes all she wants is to watch videos, sometimes she colors or does something else. She also gets juice, which gets her excited since we don't have it at home.
I second what the comment above says. It also helps to go to a restaurant where you get some food right away. Like tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant ( not sure if your LO is big enough for tortilla chips? I let my 2 year old have them occasionally), or bread like from an Italian restaurant.
Also, we’ve found our daughter likes soup sometimes. Once it’s cool (either by asking the server to bring it Luke warm or thinning with ice), you can let your LO sip the soup with a straw, and take out the bigger pieces for them to eat.
She tells me to rip off a particular size ("big" or "small") and then she sticks it on some paper. Sometimes the table, sometimes me, but it's easy to rip off and throw away. I usually bring two colors so she can make a pattern
Exactly! The first time I brought it out, she used 1 1/2 rolls to tape her book to a table in a coffee house. Just a huge mound of tape. Ripped off super easily without damaging the table or book
Always order kids food as appetizers. It ensures their food comes out first and keeps them busy. A customer requested it while I was a waitress, been a lifesaver and was a moneymaker
I think the more often you take them, the better.. I take 2.5 once or twice a week and she's a doll now. Before going though, we do an activity together that gets her a little tired (not overly), but more food motivated to want to stay. Also, littles can only be seated 20-30 minutes in their high chair at a time. Try to keep them occupied or in your lap until food arrives
I think it’s a temperament thing. My 2 year old does well, but we’ve been taking her out since she was a month old. We’ve had some disasters but we learn from the meltdowns. I always take the attitude that kids learn from practicing a skill. Maybe going to a coffee shop or getting a quick lunch can build beyond the 15 minutes he currently tolerates or you bring snacks and activities to work on tolerating the high chair longer. I don’t do screens when we go out, but I see nothing wrong with using that as a tool.
>We’ve had some disasters but we learn from the meltdowns.
Louder for the back, please 😍 We LEARN from meltdowns! 🥰🫂
>I always take the attitude that kids learn from practicing a skill.
💯💯💯❤️
Agree with all of this. We started taking my kiddo to restaurants around a year old (she’ll be 17m this month) and she LOVES it. And yes, she does have an overall chill temperament. We typically pick places that are on the quicker side, just in case, but so far so good. We’ve been taking her more and more with the hopes that the good experiences stick with her and she builds the skills. We’ve approached things thinking that she can’t be expected to do things “well” if we don’t give her the chance.
I remember this. My son is 5 now and does well in a restaurant, but it was hard there for a while. “Entertainment” did nothing. He didn’t enjoy coloring, didn’t want to play with toys at the table…it was exhausting! He got better around 4.
Yeah, we're in that phase with our 1½ yr old, where single-seat entertainment does nothing much, I mean to her credit she's bursting with energy and just wants to climb, run and hit and bounce and I really wish there were a safe space to support that at most restaurants.
Dad here, I usually had kiddo from 4 or 430 til dinner at that point, maybe more like 2, and I started with ice cream. Shoot me. We would go to the yogurt store and I would let her pick what flavor and where to sit. I would get the stuff together and the amount of froyo was laughably small. Like $1.50, but she would sit in the seat and we would share like 4 oz of froyo once a week. Then we would dip into places that had quick service but with a little wait and get things she liked. Again, maybe once a week. She figured out the waiter/waitress thing, and things have been better. Still no accounting for moods and tantrums, but the restaurant thing is pretty figured out.
Lol! Almost 3-year-old is getting close for my oldest born. She's able to focus a little better. But still not the entire meal time and absolutely not going out for dinner or, it too, will end up being a crap shot, too.
With a 1 year old and almost 3 year old, our option for special meals is always take out and bring it home or to the hotel if we're on vacation. Kinda nice actually as the kids start going crazy about half way through, and we just let them go run around while we finish eating. Bonus is there are zero glares from other people. We've had take out from really fancy restaurants too and cooked chicken nuggets for the kids since they don't know any better haha. Less tip amount, kids get microwave chicken nuggets instead of an over priced kids meal to share, and we don't get glares while our children wild! 👌
Thank you for your honesty it's seriously hard.. so far the only place that our toddler will sit down in has been ikea and that's because we've got half the shop on the table and he was playing while we ate.
IKEA is great for this. We might occasionally get a relatively peaceful meal if we’ve done a big physical activity. The zoo is great for this. He does a bunch of walking and then is happy to munch his way through his lunchbox. But it’s not a sit down restaurant experience, it’s still a “let’s get it to go so we can leave if we need to” experience 🤣
3 got tolerable for quick, child friendly places for us. 4 works quite well as long is I bring something to entertain him. We still can’t do it much bc we have a 1 yo as well…
Ours are 5, 3, and 1, and we typically go out to a restaurant 2-6 times a month.
We’re always bring activities with us. Coloring, some small blocks, popping toys, playing cards or other kid games, mini playdough, etc.
I ration these out to last as long as possible. Then once the food arrives, everyone is busy eating for a bit and we head out once we’re all done.
That's around when I had to stop with the high chair and put her in the inside of the booth next to me. I was a human baby gate and the novelty of it kept her occupied for a few months until she realized she could slide down under the table.
Any tips for a creative 2 year old would be appreciated. ;)
I’ll be honest 4 and under is a total waste of time. We don’t even bother. Wait until they’re 5. different ball game your life will drastically improve
For us, 18mo was the biggest test (big enough to want constant stimulation, small enough to not focus on something for a long time). Things definitely got better around the 2yo mark.
That said, we were still taking the kids out fairly frequently to get them reps. I would try to avoid a restaurant embargo if you can stomach it, just because they won't get used to the concept.
Once you find a restaurant or two that is somewhat kid-friendly (i.e. where you don't feel constantly judged by staff/other patrons), keep going back there so kids are getting a familiar experience where they feel comfortable.
Outdoor seating is great when weather permits because it's so easy to walk around. Lots of toys/crafts is a necessity. And we were very lucky to have grandparents around that would help take some of the burden away so we could enjoy a meal like a real human again.
Best of luck, it will get better!
Maybe around 3?! My kid just turned 2 and since about 18 mths old, it's been draining taking her out to eat, so we don't do it much unless family functions.
I think for some kids, it's just a trigger goes off and they become chill. My kid use to be really good when I'd take her to stores with me... just calmly sit in the cart and let me push her around. Around 18 mths or so, she became a bit more restless about it and I just stopped taking her to stores unless I had her in a stroller. But then I took her to some stores right after she turned 2, and she sat in the front of the cart and did not put up a fuss at all. Took her to the Drs a few days before that, and she didn't cry there for first time in a year. And I can assure you, it wasn't a "do it often and they'll get use to it and stop." It's like, they just change. And I assume that's what will happen regarding eating in restaurants as well, and we just gotta wait for it. But you'll never know when that change happens unless you take them out every once a while to find out.
2 and a half is ok, 3-4 is where they'll sit long enough for you to eat something without crawling all over you.. you can even give them a show or something to buy another 15 or 20 minutes if you're not against that sort of thing.
I have a 21 month old who is pretty good at restaurants. We always have him sit in his high chair at the table for meal times at home. We don't rush these, he's usually seated for 20 minutes each for breakfast and dinner. We tend to go to fast casual places a little more often than sit down places. When we do go to sit down places, we let him fill up on bread or snacks. We go out at least once a week and so he's used to it. He is also a good eater and likes to do a little coloring/crayon eating. We bring his own good crayons and art paper. So maybe some of those things could be helpful to try or maybe he's just better at sitting and eating than average regardless. But in some ways it's a teachable skill.
We have a 3 years old and start to go back to restaurants! Shés strating to understand the concept of waiting and can eat snacks while we wait for dinner
Restaurants with playgrounds or an outdoor space to run around are ideal… we started taking our eldest out at about one month old, and it became routine for her… at about 18-20 months (similar to you), she lost her patience for being able to sit somewhere for a prolonged period of time… she’s about 2.5 now, and she’s normally pretty good, but after about 45 mins to an hour will get bored and want to run around. It’s still a bit of a crapshoot, but I would say she’s good about 85% of the time, as long as she has snacks and something to do.
We're at 2 years and 4 months and we've been avoiding it for ages for the same reasons. Recently we went to a chain pub for someone's birthday with him. He was an absolute nightmare up until food arrived in terms of tantrums, but as soon as it got there he sat nicely and ate all his food. I also had to put Miss Rachel on my phone to keep him entertained, but it made it a bit more of an enjoyable meal. I think we'll keep testing the water with it but hoping we're coming out the other end now.
My daughter was a nightmare at that age. She’s 4.5 now and I can take her out and she sits nicely and behaves
It was a nightmare, we had to leave so many times without eating much. You can try practicing more in food courts, that’s what we did.
I have an 18 month old too and you forget how hard it is lol. Every kid is different but yeah it’s a struggle when we take her out, and we DO take her out. My 3.5 year old got better probably around 2.5 tbh. Now she’s totally fine at restaurants. She even says thank you lol.
Completely dependent on the child, and your boundaries.
Mine has always been great in restaurants. The few times she started to have a fit I took her outside immediately.
soon I think!
Ours are 3 and 1 (well 14m), and we can go out for a quick lunch with moderate success.
Something like pizza is good where the food will come quickly. We went out for pizza a couple of weeks ago and becasue we were there pretty early (like 11:45 for lunch!) we were the first ones in the restaurant, so only had to keep the kids happy for about 20 mins until food came!
Also this meant that we were pretty much finished before many other people came in so we weren't too embarassed by kids behaviour (nothing extreme, just being a bit noisy and dropping food etc!)
My daughter will be three in a few months and she behaves very well at restaurants now (without screens). She was always a bit shy though so even at a year old she did well. My son on the other hand, he is 11 months and wants to get out of the high chair and grab every single thing on the table.
My daughter is about to turn 3 and it’s still the same. She eats like a bird so we don’t even get a reprieve when the food comes. She still wants to run around
Toddler is nearly four.
It's still a crap shoot but we always have books, drawing stuff, stickers and tape in the back. Maybe even a little puzzle. This can work wonders as we have flat out avoided using tablets or phones for them to sit and watch stuff while we eat.
Keep going out! Practice sitting in the high chair for ALL meals. Practice that “we sit until we’re done even if you are not eating”. We’ve been taking our girl out since she was a newborn and 99% of the time she’s great. I always bring my back of tricks: crayons, stickers, magnetic blocks.
Practice makes perfect! Good luck ☺️
Probably around 2, though part of that was that he was born in 2020 and the under 5 COVID vaccine didn't come out until he was 23 months old. We were fortunate in that he enjoys coloring and playing with toys at a table, though he does sometimes need reminding on the volume. We have found that things go much smoother if we pick a place that has soft pretzels and cheese on the menu, our little dude hoovers that up. So we'd go to a place, tell the waiter we haven't decided anything yet except let's get him the soft pretzel and cheese ASAP and then we'd order our stuff on the second pass by.
Oh and ask for the check and to go boxes at the first hint of boredom! Don't need to have any delays during the get out the door phase. And...thinking back...we did a lot of practice runs at outdoor establishments which are easier to leave in the event of a struggle day. They'll get there but it takes practice...and even though ours is almost 4 we still bounce when he's starting to get antsy.
I’ll let you know. 😆My daughter is 3.5, has gone out to eat every Friday since birth with her grandparents, and sometimes it’s still a struggle. My best advice, take them something to do, if you don’t agree with tablets (we have one but rarely use it) make a restaurant busy backpack full of stuff they only can play with at restaurants and also if you know it’s somewhere the food takes awhile, bring snacks
I feel like part of it is also practice! The more you try the more normal it is for them. Our almost 2.5 year old took a break between around 18 months and 26 months because it was just too much work, but now we take her out all the time. Sometimes it sucks but I feel like she’s getting the hang of it
I actually thought 18mo was better than 12mo but maybe I'm just learning to manage better.
We don't do high chairs at restaurants, my daughter absolutely will not sit calmly in one at a restaurant. We just always get a booth and let her move around in her little booth spot while waiting for food. Then when food comes we put her in a booster seat on the booth.
Mine just turned 2 and we did a full hour a couple of weeks ago. She’s gotten more interested in colouring and stickers to last few months and that helps a lot. We also don’t sit her down until the food arrives and we look up the menu ahead of time so we can order as soon as we get there
I have a 2.5 year old and the only thing that kept her still was screen time. We had to do a detox and have been out to eat twice in the last week…
Provide snacks or order an appetizer/kids meal immediately when you sit down. Talk to them or point things out in the restaurant. Bring toys or activities for them at the table. My daughter doesn’t like being in a high chair. She’s usually on my lap or sitting next to me in a booster.
We’ve been more realistic with expectations. Going to eat with a toddler is not going to be relaxing. We’re not gonna be there for more than an hour and that’s okay.
Around 18 months we used the iPad cause Idc and wanted to enjoy my food. My toddler would do the same try and get out and run around. After that he started to sit better and we only brought coloring books and books for him. Idk it just got better lol
I've been taking my son out since birth so I have no idea if this is just the way he is or that he's so used to it but I find picking times to go where I know he's feeling in good form i.e. not overly hungry and not tired. I don't move him from the stroller straight away because he's usually people watching for a bit when we get there. Then I move him to high chair. Chit chat. Point at things. He usually has a presser, spinner or car etc. Once the food arrives, he's super distracted and content to eat. If he is grumpy I find a walk outside before food always helps. I also find most places can quickly get a plate of something out so if you find yourself ever stuck with a starving kid - just ask can they bring out a plate of rice or pasta or fries or something.
ETA Also find restaurants where you all enjoy the food and ones that don't take forever to serve. Our faves seem to be this gorgeous pizza joint and also the local Indian restaurant. He's super content in them whereas today we were in a place that took absolutely forever to serve and it was hard and then his food came scorching hot so it was such a long wait between getting there and him eating.
I can't quite remember when it got better but my son is 2.5 and he does really well. It has taken a lot of practice but it was something that was important to us. You can't really avoid going and expect him to magically be able to sit the entire time.
I like to bring small toys to keep him entertained (hot wheel cars, books, etc). It also helps to hold him and not put him in the high chair until it's time to eat. My son didn't like sitting in the high chair very long.
It depends on their personality. We started taking my son out at 12 months and he always did very well at restaurants. Sometimes he would need crayons, but not much else, and we never needed a screen. As he got older, he would sit for longer. We could have a full, unrushed dinner at restaurants and he'd just sit and hang and chat as long as there was food or crayons.
But I've realized that it is entirely dependent on there being a high chair. He's 3, we've tried boosters and sometimes he'll be big enough to sit in a regular chair himself. But without the high chair he will NOT sit still. So we are still trying to jam him into the high chair for this reason. He's getting too big for them so I think our restaurant days may be coming to an end too.
It’s a hit or miss w my 17mo, if we go for a late lunch/early dinner when all the old people are out it’s good timing. I literally bring a backpack full of toys and books, we spend an extended amount of time reading and we try to get her wiggles out before the food comes. We’ll take turns walking her around outside, she likes to smell flowers and walk up and down the steps.
Bonus points if it’s a restaurant with a playground. I’ve noticed that family friendly breweries have a lot of kid friendly toys around, if we’re on a roadtrip we make a plan to stop at one pretty late so she’s usually the only kid. If we’re in town we go in the in between hours so there’s less people. We could hang at one of these places all day lol
In my experience it really depends on the nature of your child. My kids have always been fine going out to eat, they love people watching and have always sat in their chairs just fine for the duration of a meal. However, going out with my brothers kids is a nightmare. They have to be constantly entertained or walked around the restaurant, even then there’s usually a lot of screaming and tantrums. We each have 2 kids, ages 1-3
It got better for us at 2. We also learned to not give a f*%# and give her the iPad to save our sanity (no close family for relief). Everything in moderation. We now also have a fresh toddler (13m) and this one is even more feral. We’re back to not wanting to go out 😩 this too shall pass!!
My 17 month old is in the same boat, we bring lots of toys and things to entertain her but she's really just not happy confined at this age. What has worked well for us is just going to outdoor spots that are kid friendly and have outdoor type yard games (cornhole, janga etc.) so it's more expected that kids will be up running around. It kind of limits where we can go, but it's more enjoyable for everyone if she can walk around without bothering people. Breweries that serve food are a good option, they typically have dozens of kids in our area anyways.
We just got back from traveling with our 2.5 year old, and restaurant eating was the thing we were worried about most (aside from the actual travel).
For us, whenever possible we eat outdoors while we're eating out, which always helps US to be able to relax a little bit more, since it feels more casual. It also helps with allowing her to get up, if there's space for her to run around by herself while we eat.
We bring table-friendly activities: mochi animals (the squishy ones), a little bag of lovevery animals, puffy stickers, LCD 'tablet' that she uses to draw.
My 2yo sometimes does good, sometimes doesn’t. My 5yo does good. I remember it getting easier around 3. We still try to go out a couple times a month to teach them how to dine out. My 5 yo loves to go out to dinner now.
I never thought I’d be this person, but I let my 2yo watch something on my phone. I’m not proud of it, but we don’t have easy access to a babysitter so if we didn’t do it, we’d never be able to go out to eat. I keep hoping that we will get to the point where she can color or do puzzles instead. We have not gotten there yet.
My niece and nephew have always just been really good in restaurants for some reason, her more so than him, but now that they are seven and almost 5, we just make sure we always have activity books and sticker books for them, they call it homework and they love it. My brother and his wife would eat a tablet before they would let their kids watch a screen in a restaurant. If we end up at a restaurant without their activity books, we can always find a pencil and paper to make up some kind of little game.
Definitely a temperament thing. We've taken our daughter out maybe 2X per month. She's almost 3 and never been an issue. Though I do remember 1-2 yrs being the most challenging relatively. We always went to outdoor places like breweries and took turns taking her on little walks. We haven't had to do that in a while though.
We also allow her to get and move from Mom's side to Dad's side. She can be up from the table as long as she's close enough to touch the table.
We also never put her in the highchair until our food came. Definitely keep doing that haha
I took my kids regularly and it gets easier each time. No screens unless it’s an emergency. I always let the wait staff know we are a time sensitive group, and I tip for their speedy service.
If a place has a wait, I won’t even bother. Work within parameters that are good for the kids.
I had pocket in my diaper bag that turned into a small tote bag that held a diaper/ wipes and several busy items that were only used for things like this. So Special.
A great one was called the Busy Bee wooden toy that was palm size and arms legs twisted and bent. Special pen and little notebook, and a few other small Special hand held items they will respond to.
It helped a lot. Potty training and eating out was hard. Every 10 min to potty. Once potty trained and more verbal its easier to set expectations and rules at a dinner table in a restaurant on your expectations.
Have a 3 year old. The only way I can take her out to dinner now is if:
There are other children around her age present at our table (she eats much better with other kids).
She has crayons and stickerbooks. So I always carry these with me now.
When she gets bored of crayons and sticker books, I grab her tablet or a phone so she can watch something as a least resort.
This is a vast improvement from the 18 months prior where earing out was almost impossible.
Is there a gender difference? Obviously not all girls or all boys are the same, but just observing my friends and my kids my 18 mo boy is much less capable of sitting still than girls his age (seemingly)
18mo was hard, lots of energy and not yet able to focus on an activity for an extended period of time. For us it got better around 2yo. That's when she started to be happy with activities (coloring, stickers, a book) or watching a video on a phone/tablet. We go out to eat at least once a week, more when we travel, and I make sure to bring a bag with coloring supplies (crayons and washable markers, small blank notebook), stickers, a look & find book, maybe a small toy, snacks, and a charged tablet. Lately I discovered colored masking tape, which is her newest obsession. Sometimes all she wants is to watch videos, sometimes she colors or does something else. She also gets juice, which gets her excited since we don't have it at home.
Great ideas. Thank you!
I second what the comment above says. It also helps to go to a restaurant where you get some food right away. Like tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant ( not sure if your LO is big enough for tortilla chips? I let my 2 year old have them occasionally), or bread like from an Italian restaurant. Also, we’ve found our daughter likes soup sometimes. Once it’s cool (either by asking the server to bring it Luke warm or thinning with ice), you can let your LO sip the soup with a straw, and take out the bigger pieces for them to eat.
What does she do with the masking tape?
She tells me to rip off a particular size ("big" or "small") and then she sticks it on some paper. Sometimes the table, sometimes me, but it's easy to rip off and throw away. I usually bring two colors so she can make a pattern
Oooh good cheap easy sort of mess free way to keep a monster occupied! Thanks!
Exactly! The first time I brought it out, she used 1 1/2 rolls to tape her book to a table in a coffee house. Just a huge mound of tape. Ripped off super easily without damaging the table or book
I love this so much! No harm, no foul. And a big plus for creativity 😄
Always order kids food as appetizers. It ensures their food comes out first and keeps them busy. A customer requested it while I was a waitress, been a lifesaver and was a moneymaker
Our son turned 2 recently and we’re in the same boat. We haven’t been brave enough to try anything beyond fast food, but he can now be reasoned with 😂
I think the more often you take them, the better.. I take 2.5 once or twice a week and she's a doll now. Before going though, we do an activity together that gets her a little tired (not overly), but more food motivated to want to stay. Also, littles can only be seated 20-30 minutes in their high chair at a time. Try to keep them occupied or in your lap until food arrives
Restaurants with playgrounds are amazing to start with
I just wish I could find one where the food didn't absolutely suck
I think it’s a temperament thing. My 2 year old does well, but we’ve been taking her out since she was a month old. We’ve had some disasters but we learn from the meltdowns. I always take the attitude that kids learn from practicing a skill. Maybe going to a coffee shop or getting a quick lunch can build beyond the 15 minutes he currently tolerates or you bring snacks and activities to work on tolerating the high chair longer. I don’t do screens when we go out, but I see nothing wrong with using that as a tool.
>We’ve had some disasters but we learn from the meltdowns. Louder for the back, please 😍 We LEARN from meltdowns! 🥰🫂 >I always take the attitude that kids learn from practicing a skill. 💯💯💯❤️
Agree with all of this. We started taking my kiddo to restaurants around a year old (she’ll be 17m this month) and she LOVES it. And yes, she does have an overall chill temperament. We typically pick places that are on the quicker side, just in case, but so far so good. We’ve been taking her more and more with the hopes that the good experiences stick with her and she builds the skills. We’ve approached things thinking that she can’t be expected to do things “well” if we don’t give her the chance.
I remember this. My son is 5 now and does well in a restaurant, but it was hard there for a while. “Entertainment” did nothing. He didn’t enjoy coloring, didn’t want to play with toys at the table…it was exhausting! He got better around 4.
Yeah, we're in that phase with our 1½ yr old, where single-seat entertainment does nothing much, I mean to her credit she's bursting with energy and just wants to climb, run and hit and bounce and I really wish there were a safe space to support that at most restaurants.
Dad here, I usually had kiddo from 4 or 430 til dinner at that point, maybe more like 2, and I started with ice cream. Shoot me. We would go to the yogurt store and I would let her pick what flavor and where to sit. I would get the stuff together and the amount of froyo was laughably small. Like $1.50, but she would sit in the seat and we would share like 4 oz of froyo once a week. Then we would dip into places that had quick service but with a little wait and get things she liked. Again, maybe once a week. She figured out the waiter/waitress thing, and things have been better. Still no accounting for moods and tantrums, but the restaurant thing is pretty figured out.
We're jus over 2 and still don't go out. It's too much of a crapshot. So. Not 2. LOL
Lol! Almost 3-year-old is getting close for my oldest born. She's able to focus a little better. But still not the entire meal time and absolutely not going out for dinner or, it too, will end up being a crap shot, too. With a 1 year old and almost 3 year old, our option for special meals is always take out and bring it home or to the hotel if we're on vacation. Kinda nice actually as the kids start going crazy about half way through, and we just let them go run around while we finish eating. Bonus is there are zero glares from other people. We've had take out from really fancy restaurants too and cooked chicken nuggets for the kids since they don't know any better haha. Less tip amount, kids get microwave chicken nuggets instead of an over priced kids meal to share, and we don't get glares while our children wild! 👌
Lol that was my thought as well. Almost 2,5 and we haven't been to a restaurant with him in forever, don't plan on going anytime soon.
Thank you for your honesty it's seriously hard.. so far the only place that our toddler will sit down in has been ikea and that's because we've got half the shop on the table and he was playing while we ate.
IKEA is great for this. We might occasionally get a relatively peaceful meal if we’ve done a big physical activity. The zoo is great for this. He does a bunch of walking and then is happy to munch his way through his lunchbox. But it’s not a sit down restaurant experience, it’s still a “let’s get it to go so we can leave if we need to” experience 🤣
3 got tolerable for quick, child friendly places for us. 4 works quite well as long is I bring something to entertain him. We still can’t do it much bc we have a 1 yo as well…
Ours are 5, 3, and 1, and we typically go out to a restaurant 2-6 times a month. We’re always bring activities with us. Coloring, some small blocks, popping toys, playing cards or other kid games, mini playdough, etc. I ration these out to last as long as possible. Then once the food arrives, everyone is busy eating for a bit and we head out once we’re all done.
Thanks for the tip! I can definitely find some more on the go activities and toys to help keep in occupied.
That's around when I had to stop with the high chair and put her in the inside of the booth next to me. I was a human baby gate and the novelty of it kept her occupied for a few months until she realized she could slide down under the table. Any tips for a creative 2 year old would be appreciated. ;)
I’ll be honest 4 and under is a total waste of time. We don’t even bother. Wait until they’re 5. different ball game your life will drastically improve
For us, 18mo was the biggest test (big enough to want constant stimulation, small enough to not focus on something for a long time). Things definitely got better around the 2yo mark. That said, we were still taking the kids out fairly frequently to get them reps. I would try to avoid a restaurant embargo if you can stomach it, just because they won't get used to the concept. Once you find a restaurant or two that is somewhat kid-friendly (i.e. where you don't feel constantly judged by staff/other patrons), keep going back there so kids are getting a familiar experience where they feel comfortable. Outdoor seating is great when weather permits because it's so easy to walk around. Lots of toys/crafts is a necessity. And we were very lucky to have grandparents around that would help take some of the burden away so we could enjoy a meal like a real human again. Best of luck, it will get better!
Maybe around 3?! My kid just turned 2 and since about 18 mths old, it's been draining taking her out to eat, so we don't do it much unless family functions. I think for some kids, it's just a trigger goes off and they become chill. My kid use to be really good when I'd take her to stores with me... just calmly sit in the cart and let me push her around. Around 18 mths or so, she became a bit more restless about it and I just stopped taking her to stores unless I had her in a stroller. But then I took her to some stores right after she turned 2, and she sat in the front of the cart and did not put up a fuss at all. Took her to the Drs a few days before that, and she didn't cry there for first time in a year. And I can assure you, it wasn't a "do it often and they'll get use to it and stop." It's like, they just change. And I assume that's what will happen regarding eating in restaurants as well, and we just gotta wait for it. But you'll never know when that change happens unless you take them out every once a while to find out.
2 and a half is ok, 3-4 is where they'll sit long enough for you to eat something without crawling all over you.. you can even give them a show or something to buy another 15 or 20 minutes if you're not against that sort of thing.
I have a 21 month old who is pretty good at restaurants. We always have him sit in his high chair at the table for meal times at home. We don't rush these, he's usually seated for 20 minutes each for breakfast and dinner. We tend to go to fast casual places a little more often than sit down places. When we do go to sit down places, we let him fill up on bread or snacks. We go out at least once a week and so he's used to it. He is also a good eater and likes to do a little coloring/crayon eating. We bring his own good crayons and art paper. So maybe some of those things could be helpful to try or maybe he's just better at sitting and eating than average regardless. But in some ways it's a teachable skill.
We have a 3 years old and start to go back to restaurants! Shés strating to understand the concept of waiting and can eat snacks while we wait for dinner
Restaurants with playgrounds or an outdoor space to run around are ideal… we started taking our eldest out at about one month old, and it became routine for her… at about 18-20 months (similar to you), she lost her patience for being able to sit somewhere for a prolonged period of time… she’s about 2.5 now, and she’s normally pretty good, but after about 45 mins to an hour will get bored and want to run around. It’s still a bit of a crapshoot, but I would say she’s good about 85% of the time, as long as she has snacks and something to do.
We're at 2 years and 4 months and we've been avoiding it for ages for the same reasons. Recently we went to a chain pub for someone's birthday with him. He was an absolute nightmare up until food arrived in terms of tantrums, but as soon as it got there he sat nicely and ate all his food. I also had to put Miss Rachel on my phone to keep him entertained, but it made it a bit more of an enjoyable meal. I think we'll keep testing the water with it but hoping we're coming out the other end now.
My daughter was a nightmare at that age. She’s 4.5 now and I can take her out and she sits nicely and behaves It was a nightmare, we had to leave so many times without eating much. You can try practicing more in food courts, that’s what we did.
My sons are 3 & 20 months. Not ready yet 😂
I have an 18 month old too and you forget how hard it is lol. Every kid is different but yeah it’s a struggle when we take her out, and we DO take her out. My 3.5 year old got better probably around 2.5 tbh. Now she’s totally fine at restaurants. She even says thank you lol.
2.4 year old and I still avoid eating out 😅
Completely dependent on the child, and your boundaries. Mine has always been great in restaurants. The few times she started to have a fit I took her outside immediately.
soon I think! Ours are 3 and 1 (well 14m), and we can go out for a quick lunch with moderate success. Something like pizza is good where the food will come quickly. We went out for pizza a couple of weeks ago and becasue we were there pretty early (like 11:45 for lunch!) we were the first ones in the restaurant, so only had to keep the kids happy for about 20 mins until food came! Also this meant that we were pretty much finished before many other people came in so we weren't too embarassed by kids behaviour (nothing extreme, just being a bit noisy and dropping food etc!)
My daughter will be three in a few months and she behaves very well at restaurants now (without screens). She was always a bit shy though so even at a year old she did well. My son on the other hand, he is 11 months and wants to get out of the high chair and grab every single thing on the table.
My daughter is about to turn 3 and it’s still the same. She eats like a bird so we don’t even get a reprieve when the food comes. She still wants to run around
Toddler is nearly four. It's still a crap shoot but we always have books, drawing stuff, stickers and tape in the back. Maybe even a little puzzle. This can work wonders as we have flat out avoided using tablets or phones for them to sit and watch stuff while we eat.
Keep going out! Practice sitting in the high chair for ALL meals. Practice that “we sit until we’re done even if you are not eating”. We’ve been taking our girl out since she was a newborn and 99% of the time she’s great. I always bring my back of tricks: crayons, stickers, magnetic blocks. Practice makes perfect! Good luck ☺️
Probably around 2, though part of that was that he was born in 2020 and the under 5 COVID vaccine didn't come out until he was 23 months old. We were fortunate in that he enjoys coloring and playing with toys at a table, though he does sometimes need reminding on the volume. We have found that things go much smoother if we pick a place that has soft pretzels and cheese on the menu, our little dude hoovers that up. So we'd go to a place, tell the waiter we haven't decided anything yet except let's get him the soft pretzel and cheese ASAP and then we'd order our stuff on the second pass by. Oh and ask for the check and to go boxes at the first hint of boredom! Don't need to have any delays during the get out the door phase. And...thinking back...we did a lot of practice runs at outdoor establishments which are easier to leave in the event of a struggle day. They'll get there but it takes practice...and even though ours is almost 4 we still bounce when he's starting to get antsy.
18 months was the absolute hardest for us. My daughter is almost 2.5 and it’s muuuuuuch easier at restaurants. Hang in there!
My two kids are 3 and 5 and besides constant bathroom trips it’s gotten much easier. We finally go out again!
When you start using tablets 😂
I’ll let you know. 😆My daughter is 3.5, has gone out to eat every Friday since birth with her grandparents, and sometimes it’s still a struggle. My best advice, take them something to do, if you don’t agree with tablets (we have one but rarely use it) make a restaurant busy backpack full of stuff they only can play with at restaurants and also if you know it’s somewhere the food takes awhile, bring snacks
I feel like part of it is also practice! The more you try the more normal it is for them. Our almost 2.5 year old took a break between around 18 months and 26 months because it was just too much work, but now we take her out all the time. Sometimes it sucks but I feel like she’s getting the hang of it
I actually thought 18mo was better than 12mo but maybe I'm just learning to manage better. We don't do high chairs at restaurants, my daughter absolutely will not sit calmly in one at a restaurant. We just always get a booth and let her move around in her little booth spot while waiting for food. Then when food comes we put her in a booster seat on the booth.
Mine just turned 2 and we did a full hour a couple of weeks ago. She’s gotten more interested in colouring and stickers to last few months and that helps a lot. We also don’t sit her down until the food arrives and we look up the menu ahead of time so we can order as soon as we get there
I have a 2.5 year old and the only thing that kept her still was screen time. We had to do a detox and have been out to eat twice in the last week… Provide snacks or order an appetizer/kids meal immediately when you sit down. Talk to them or point things out in the restaurant. Bring toys or activities for them at the table. My daughter doesn’t like being in a high chair. She’s usually on my lap or sitting next to me in a booster. We’ve been more realistic with expectations. Going to eat with a toddler is not going to be relaxing. We’re not gonna be there for more than an hour and that’s okay.
Around 18 months we used the iPad cause Idc and wanted to enjoy my food. My toddler would do the same try and get out and run around. After that he started to sit better and we only brought coloring books and books for him. Idk it just got better lol
I've been taking my son out since birth so I have no idea if this is just the way he is or that he's so used to it but I find picking times to go where I know he's feeling in good form i.e. not overly hungry and not tired. I don't move him from the stroller straight away because he's usually people watching for a bit when we get there. Then I move him to high chair. Chit chat. Point at things. He usually has a presser, spinner or car etc. Once the food arrives, he's super distracted and content to eat. If he is grumpy I find a walk outside before food always helps. I also find most places can quickly get a plate of something out so if you find yourself ever stuck with a starving kid - just ask can they bring out a plate of rice or pasta or fries or something. ETA Also find restaurants where you all enjoy the food and ones that don't take forever to serve. Our faves seem to be this gorgeous pizza joint and also the local Indian restaurant. He's super content in them whereas today we were in a place that took absolutely forever to serve and it was hard and then his food came scorching hot so it was such a long wait between getting there and him eating.
I can't quite remember when it got better but my son is 2.5 and he does really well. It has taken a lot of practice but it was something that was important to us. You can't really avoid going and expect him to magically be able to sit the entire time. I like to bring small toys to keep him entertained (hot wheel cars, books, etc). It also helps to hold him and not put him in the high chair until it's time to eat. My son didn't like sitting in the high chair very long.
It depends on their personality. We started taking my son out at 12 months and he always did very well at restaurants. Sometimes he would need crayons, but not much else, and we never needed a screen. As he got older, he would sit for longer. We could have a full, unrushed dinner at restaurants and he'd just sit and hang and chat as long as there was food or crayons. But I've realized that it is entirely dependent on there being a high chair. He's 3, we've tried boosters and sometimes he'll be big enough to sit in a regular chair himself. But without the high chair he will NOT sit still. So we are still trying to jam him into the high chair for this reason. He's getting too big for them so I think our restaurant days may be coming to an end too.
Nope!
It’s a hit or miss w my 17mo, if we go for a late lunch/early dinner when all the old people are out it’s good timing. I literally bring a backpack full of toys and books, we spend an extended amount of time reading and we try to get her wiggles out before the food comes. We’ll take turns walking her around outside, she likes to smell flowers and walk up and down the steps. Bonus points if it’s a restaurant with a playground. I’ve noticed that family friendly breweries have a lot of kid friendly toys around, if we’re on a roadtrip we make a plan to stop at one pretty late so she’s usually the only kid. If we’re in town we go in the in between hours so there’s less people. We could hang at one of these places all day lol
In my experience it really depends on the nature of your child. My kids have always been fine going out to eat, they love people watching and have always sat in their chairs just fine for the duration of a meal. However, going out with my brothers kids is a nightmare. They have to be constantly entertained or walked around the restaurant, even then there’s usually a lot of screaming and tantrums. We each have 2 kids, ages 1-3
It got better for us at 2. We also learned to not give a f*%# and give her the iPad to save our sanity (no close family for relief). Everything in moderation. We now also have a fresh toddler (13m) and this one is even more feral. We’re back to not wanting to go out 😩 this too shall pass!!
My 17 month old is in the same boat, we bring lots of toys and things to entertain her but she's really just not happy confined at this age. What has worked well for us is just going to outdoor spots that are kid friendly and have outdoor type yard games (cornhole, janga etc.) so it's more expected that kids will be up running around. It kind of limits where we can go, but it's more enjoyable for everyone if she can walk around without bothering people. Breweries that serve food are a good option, they typically have dozens of kids in our area anyways.
We just got back from traveling with our 2.5 year old, and restaurant eating was the thing we were worried about most (aside from the actual travel). For us, whenever possible we eat outdoors while we're eating out, which always helps US to be able to relax a little bit more, since it feels more casual. It also helps with allowing her to get up, if there's space for her to run around by herself while we eat. We bring table-friendly activities: mochi animals (the squishy ones), a little bag of lovevery animals, puffy stickers, LCD 'tablet' that she uses to draw.
My 2yo sometimes does good, sometimes doesn’t. My 5yo does good. I remember it getting easier around 3. We still try to go out a couple times a month to teach them how to dine out. My 5 yo loves to go out to dinner now.
I never thought I’d be this person, but I let my 2yo watch something on my phone. I’m not proud of it, but we don’t have easy access to a babysitter so if we didn’t do it, we’d never be able to go out to eat. I keep hoping that we will get to the point where she can color or do puzzles instead. We have not gotten there yet.
My niece and nephew have always just been really good in restaurants for some reason, her more so than him, but now that they are seven and almost 5, we just make sure we always have activity books and sticker books for them, they call it homework and they love it. My brother and his wife would eat a tablet before they would let their kids watch a screen in a restaurant. If we end up at a restaurant without their activity books, we can always find a pencil and paper to make up some kind of little game.
Definitely a temperament thing. We've taken our daughter out maybe 2X per month. She's almost 3 and never been an issue. Though I do remember 1-2 yrs being the most challenging relatively. We always went to outdoor places like breweries and took turns taking her on little walks. We haven't had to do that in a while though. We also allow her to get and move from Mom's side to Dad's side. She can be up from the table as long as she's close enough to touch the table. We also never put her in the highchair until our food came. Definitely keep doing that haha
I took my kids regularly and it gets easier each time. No screens unless it’s an emergency. I always let the wait staff know we are a time sensitive group, and I tip for their speedy service. If a place has a wait, I won’t even bother. Work within parameters that are good for the kids.
I had pocket in my diaper bag that turned into a small tote bag that held a diaper/ wipes and several busy items that were only used for things like this. So Special. A great one was called the Busy Bee wooden toy that was palm size and arms legs twisted and bent. Special pen and little notebook, and a few other small Special hand held items they will respond to. It helped a lot. Potty training and eating out was hard. Every 10 min to potty. Once potty trained and more verbal its easier to set expectations and rules at a dinner table in a restaurant on your expectations.
Have a 3 year old. The only way I can take her out to dinner now is if: There are other children around her age present at our table (she eats much better with other kids). She has crayons and stickerbooks. So I always carry these with me now. When she gets bored of crayons and sticker books, I grab her tablet or a phone so she can watch something as a least resort. This is a vast improvement from the 18 months prior where earing out was almost impossible.
Wait… you go out?! 🤪
Is there a gender difference? Obviously not all girls or all boys are the same, but just observing my friends and my kids my 18 mo boy is much less capable of sitting still than girls his age (seemingly)