Eating Out With Children

We have three small children.  As I write this post, they are 4.5 years, 2.5 years and 10 months old.  Yes, they have the energy of, well, a 4.5 year old, 2.5 year old, and 10 month old.  If you have no children or yours are grown enough that you may have missed just quite what I mean here, think back to Tigger in the Winnie the Pooh books, bouncing on his tail, stuttering with excitement on what he has to say, hanging from trees, running from one activity to the next.  Yeah, that's basically everyday around here. (Have I resorted to comparing my three sweeties to fictional animals??)

So eating out can be a challenge with children.  They whine while waiting for a table for 5 on a Saturday night at a popular chain restaurant.  They balk at the menu that has nothing they like to eat on it.  They're messy.  They're loud.  They have to go to the bathroom NOW....right when you're about to take that first bite all evening out of your hamburger and precisely at the moment when the baby has just dumped a glass of water all over the table.

So what do you do?  Well, for one, take a deep breath and remember that God does not give you more than you can handle.  1 Corinthians 10:13 "And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  Next, once you realize that there is a way to dig yourself out of this kids-meal-sized mess you have gotten yourself into, remember that discipline and consistency are key.  Have every meal at home be representative of what it should be like when you are in public.  Let's see.  OK, deciding not to use silverware and instead eating "Rover style" out of the plate is not acceptable in a restaurant so this should be curbed at home.  Throwing a spoonful of peas at Little Brother because, well, he's the little brother and they're yucky anyways.  Yeah, not really the best idea at home if you want to keep the bottomless bowl of nachos inside the basket instead of on the floor while dining out.  Oh, oh, I have another one!  Screaming he doesn't want any when one of those scary, awful, green things, called - dare we say it - vegetables, is spooned onto your child's plate as a side dish.  Well, you know where I'm going with this...

Once you have tackled the basics of do's and dont's at a restaurant, eating out with your children could actually be an enjoyable experience.  Yes, I mean it, and I'm not just talking about the Cleavers or the Huxtables here.  Any regular family can make eating out with children doable and a pastime that everyone will look forward to.  Following are some products that we use in our family when eating out with the kids.  It makes our life just a little bit easier so I want to pass them along to you.

The Tiny Diner by Kiddopotamus.  We have it in green and blue and I have resisted buying another pink one for my daughter since the oldest no longer uses his so we have one for each of the younger kids to use.  We love it.  It suctions onto the table, provides a clean surface for baby to eat off of, and the trough catches all of the major food droppings so clean up is easier.  As a plus, the trough also doubles as a teether for any young babies who would just love to take a gnaw out of the table at any restaurant.  Now they can without you having to worry about all of the other babies who have gnawed in the same spot.  This makes a great and unique baby shower wishing well gift.

Sesame Street Folding Travel Potty Seat.  I cannot say enough good things about this guy.  It's a folding potty seat that goes in our diaper bag all the time for those times we are on to go and Junior needs to use the big scary (and dirty) potty.  It folds out in a snap, fits any toilet and provides a clean, toddler-sized toilet seat that they can easily use without falling in!  I love that it's so easy to use, that Dad can even help take the boys to the potty when (Murphy's Law) they decide they have to go to minute the food has just arrived at the table.  It's perfect for little boys who don't stand up yet (or have to do their #2 business, which, I will warn you, will happen at the most hectic times while out and about!) and for little girls of all ages.



Portable Kitchen Shears.  Such as the ones by Farberware below are one of my favorite diaper bag items.  I love that these come in a two-pack so you can keep one at home and take one to go.  These will make the process of cutting up plates of food for your little ones into bite-sized pieces while they fuss and whine that they are starving much easier!  They cut through food in a snap and are far easier to use than any knife, especially when you go to a place that only has plastic knives, such as fast food or pizza.  Cut through pizza in long vertical slices through almost the entire piece, stopping at the crust, and then trim in rows horizontally for a full plate of bite-size pieces in about 30 seconds.



Baby Buddy Bib Clip.  I LOVE this product!  It has saved us countless times when we have been out and about, sit down to eat with Baby, and realize that we have no bib to protect her lovely pale pink hand-knit sweater dress.  It turns anything into a bib, whether it's a napkin from the restaurant or a burp cloth from your own diaper bag.  Being a mom of three, I try to think of everything when we go out, but it's inevitable that sometimes things will be forgotten and that is usually a bib in our house.




Sassy On-the-Go Feeding Set.  This is one item that I try to remember to take with us when we are eating out or picnicking.  It is a large divided plate filled with three little ones, all with covers and equipped with a toddler-sized spoon. It is great when eating out at a busy restaurant, when the kids meal you are splitting between your two little ones arrives on one plate and the waitress quickly heads off to help someone else before you realize that you need another plate for the entree and some small bowls for the side dishes.  This works perfectly as an impromptu second divided dish so that both kids can start eating instead of waiting for the waitess to return.  It also has a toddler-sized spoon in case your littlest flatware users just can't get that adult-sized spoon into their mouth.