It is not always the prices of the menus that throw us back preventing us from stepping on the bar or restaurant. Sometimes parents do not dare to eat with children, and we want to encourage you to try.
First of all, we have to ask ourselves: what "scares" us of eating out? Because depending on the answer, we will have to act in one way or another. But eating out with babies and children is possible.
The child does not eat anything
Children may not like many types of dishes, and in this case we must ensure that they are willing to try something new, or something similar to what they eat at home, and should not be afraid to try different things.
We can encourage the child before eating out by telling him everything they can choose, giving you a choice between several dishes once in the restaurant. It is difficult that there is nothing you like ...
So that this does not happen, from small children you have to encourage him to try new dishes and do “experiments”, to help us cook… and not be closed to try any food (among those healthy for them, of course), even We don't like them.
Also for "bad eaters" children we can as a last resort bring them food from home or they are already eaten, but then we no longer enjoy a family meal away from home. And there is much to enjoy.
The child does not "behave"
The biggest fear I see in my environment is to that children don't behave. But what we cannot pretend is that a child will follow the protocol of adults or spend many hours sitting formally at the table.
We have to be realistic, and keep in mind that children need to be entertained, it is difficult for them to wait a long time for food or successive dishes to arrive, so we can entertain them in several ways.
I am not very friendly to leave mobile phones to play, although I recognize that we have done it on occasion. But we can take advantage of these "dead times" once we have asked for the menu to: go to the toilet, wash your hands, go out to the terrace, draw a picture, play with a doll, make finger puppets ... Surely mom's bag or The cart has a good assortment of entertainment.
When the food arrives, you have to put aside the games. This way of working is similar to what we have at home: little by little, since they are small and change the high chair for the chair, they have to get used to sitting while they eat. But do not expect that with a long table they are also sitting ...
In this sense, there are restaurants friends with children who have an appropriate place for them to play once they have eaten. And I do not mean the ball parks, which may involve certain risks and require our attention (or we go to the park, or we are going to eat), just a few tables for them to draw or with stories that they can leaf through may be fine.
The most suitable restaurant
If you have not gone out to eat with the kids often, you can start by choosing restaurants that are outdoors, that allow them greater mobility and “recreation”.
Remember that children-friendly restaurants care about heating baby food, has varied and healthy children's menus, we can go with strollers, there is a changing table ... Perhaps all conditions are difficult to find in a single restaurant, but the more meet, the kids will be more comfortable (and we will be).
Not only does the restaurant matter, it also the moment we are going to leave. Depending on the schedules to which children are accustomed, we can choose an earlier time, or choose lunch instead of dinner.
Children should also know that it is not right to disturb the rest of the guests, we must respect others and although we always expect some "understanding", it is the parents who have to be attentive to this issue and act when necessary.
Something as simple as retreating a bit and reminding children of what we have already talked about on other occasions can help. And in my opinion, children don't bother if parents are with them. In this sense, if the first time we go out to eat with them is in family and not in large group, it will be easier for them to be calm to have all our attention.
In short, if children know how to “behave” during the meal because they do so at home, they are comfortable and also have the possibility of having fun without disturbing others. they are more likely to enjoy food and we with them.
Photos | Spigoo, littlemoresunshine and Lars Plougmann on Flickr-CC In Babies and more | Set an example for children with healthy eating habits, It is possible to travel with more than two young children
