When you have young children, taking them out to a restaurant can be a big task. It can be aggravating and embarrassing. When you have toddlers, they tend to wiggle around and want to climb under the table. The main cause of this is your child is getting bored or just wants to explore new surroundings. If you are debating on going out, look at your child’s current mood. Are they already acting up? If they are having a bad day or acting hyper, you might just want to cancel your plans and make dinner at home. If your children are older and they don’t want to go, don’t force them. If they are old enough to stay at home, let them. This will cause a more enjoyable experience and might just save you some money.

If you decide on going out to eat, bringing toys might just be a good idea. Some of the “kid friendly” restaurants will provide something for the children such as coloring sheets and crayons. The fast food chains usually have kid’s meals that come with a toy. If you are going to, say, a small non-chain restaurant, they might not provide anything, so going prepared might be a good idea. Some ideas of things to take are: books, dolls, action figures, coloring books, crayons, paper and hand held games. If you carry the games, make sure you can turn the volume off. You wouldn’t want to see other’s snicker at you for your kid making noises at the table with the game.

If you have a picky eater, have a backup plan. Make sure you bring snacks in your kid bag in case your child does not eat what is being served at the restaurant. Your goal should be to have an enjoyable experience. If you are going out to a popular restaurant, make sure to see if you can reserve a table. Waiting for a table, then waiting for your meal can bring the mood down and make your outing less enjoyable. Going out to eat should be a special event for your family. Make each outing special so that they look forward to going out to eat again.

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