It has to be every parent’s nightmare to be invited or
expected to fine dine with children. No
lie, this is one of my biggest challenges as a Mom; my kiddos have grown up
eating at Ma & Pop restaurants, kid friendly joints, and the classic fast
food joints. However, I made it my goal
this summer to introduce them to some new places, new experiences, and along
with that came new challenges.
My biggest challenges when it comes to dining with kids:
- Knowing the food- Grilled cheese is never the same, Pizza is not Pizza, and kid’s do not want their food smothered in anything green. I recently had an all time fail while eating at the Boathouse Forest Park in St Louis, MO; I had the grand idea to short cut the cost of the kids menu and order pizza off the regular menu for three kids to share. I ordered the Four Cheese Pizza, thinking this was a simple fix they would love it, only what kid likes Feta Cheese on their pizza? Needless to say I had 3 unhappy eaters and ended up eating the pizza myself and they devoured my chicken and fries.
- Manners- okay honestly, my kids do have decent table manners. I mean we do not dance on the table, we don’t belch and rub our stomach after a meal, nor do we talk the 3 B’s at the table (boogers, body functions, body parts). However, sitting at a restaurant that takes more than 5 minutes to cook your food can cause moments of boredom and odd things happen. We all have that moment when our 4 year old sends a napkin flying across the room to land in the well postured decked to hilt lady’s lap….thankfully she had manners and grinned to my relief.
- Entertainment- well this can save the manners issue, but normally when I am dining out somewhere other than a family friendly joint it tends to be for a reason, but that reason is usually boring for sidekicks. What can you do to quietly entertain your kiddos at dinner?
- Tableware- Yes we use glass plates, cups, and napkins at our table at home, but that is at home and I own them. My worst fear is to sit at a table and they only provide my child with a wine glass to drink from, sigh….a 4 year old cannot handle that.
