Are the days of cafe outings over? Can you find a cafe that suits kids and parents alike?
Most parents dread taking their young children out for a meal. Images of food flying every which way, dummy spits over mum’s choice from the menu, drinks spilt all over the nice white table cloth, forks dropped on the floor, along with those neatly folded napkins. Now that’s not my idea of a fun dining experience, and who could be bothered when it’s just as easy to stay at home and have food thrown at your own walls.
It really doesn’t have to be that way when you dine out with your baby, toddler or small child. Now before l get too bogged down and start mounting my high-horse by saying “my child displays the same eating etiquette as Lord Baron Von Trump because we eat out all the time”, I have to admit he doesn’t. But he is pretty good for a one-year-old. My husband and l have the same ideas about dining out - there is only one rule to follow. “Start them young”. It really is that simple.
I wasn’t going to be that type of parent who wouldn’t take their children out until they turned 15 - oh no - “start them young”. Our son came with us everywhere when he was just a few weeks old. Yum Cha, Italian, and Indian - he even went to a gay wedding when he was only 4 weeks but that’s another story for another day. We’ve popped him under tables in his capsule; he’s sat on our knees while gnawing on the table bread and he has even trashed his fair share of highchairs with food. He is that well behaved now that if we do go to a venue without a highchair he will sit happily in the “grown up” chair with his tiny chin resting on the side of the table, and all because we started him young.
The younger you train your child to enjoy eating out and trying new flavours and dishes, the quicker they will enjoy it themselves. Get them used to the different smells in restaurants, seeing different people, the hustle and bustle of a busy restaurant and hearing loads of fun noises. The quicker they start enjoying themselves, the more relaxing and fun it will be for the whole family.
How can we afford to dine out with our kids every week? You don’t have to take them to Nobu every week - cheap and cheerful is also another rule of ours. Choose a venue you feel comfortable in, a loud restaurant is good for toddler tantrums, no one can hear a child scream over 200 other loud diners. Believe me – I’ve witnessed it. Use online resources to find family friendly dining, a place that provides a kids menu is always a good start. If they have catered for the kids it usually means they are prepared for kids by providing highchairs and maybe some toys or books for extra amusement.
We can pretty much take our young son everywhere now without worrying because we started him young. My husband and l work together when we dine out – we are a team. Our son now eats everything we put in front of him and he will sit there quietly eating while he checks out the cute waitresses. Eating out with your family is all about spending time together. It’s meant to be fun and enjoyable, so start them young and remember just because you have kids doesn’t mean you have to stay at home every night.
And look on the bright side – you eat earlier when you have children – look at it as preparing for that next stage of your life – the senior citizen/retired stage. Soon they might will be wiping food from your chin and making sure that you wear a bib.
Article supplied by Jolie of Hey Bambini , a Melbourne website dedicated to reviewing child-friendly cafes.
