You like to eat out with your small children at restaurants that don't serve Happy Meals. What are some rules to dine by?
PARENT ADVICE
Keep your expectations age-appropriate. Very few 2-year-olds will behave for more than 30 to 45 minutes in a restaurant. Some rules: Teach and expect good table manners as they grow. If your little ones make a mess, clean it up as well as you can. Dining out is a good time to allow special treats. Also, one trip to the bathroom per customer. If your children are misbehaving, warn once, then take your food to go. Refuse to allow your children to disturb other diners.
-Sue Schafer
The rules for dining out with small children should be the same as for dining at home. Too many parents don't establish rules or, worse yet, don't make it clear by actual action that there will be consequences if the rules are ignored.
-Ron Brown
Kids often misbehave in restaurants because they are hungry. Make sure they are not ravenous, and bring breadsticks or carrot or celery sticks. Bring something to do; the other reason for misbehavior is boredom.
-Marie Grass Amenta
EXPERT ADVICE
Michael Kornick, a James Beard-nominated chef and owner of restaurants in Las Vegas and Chicago, believes in taking children to restaurants; he has done so with his own children. His advice:
Check in advance to see if the menu will satisfy your children's tastes and if the atmosphere is child-friendly (ask if there are crayons, special place mats, etc.). Those are good indicators; the availability of highchairs and booster seats shouldn't be a litmus test, Kornick said. Many restaurants also are happy to seat you at a banquette where your child can sit on her knees while at the table. If you're seeking a fine-dining restaurant, consider hotels. They are used to accommodating children traveling with their families.
Enforce the same standards you would have at a friend's home. "Some parents tend to take a license that all of a sudden this is where the kid can be wild and throw food on the floor and do things that would immediately get them sequestered at someone's house," Kornick said. Never allow children to run between tables. It is a safety hazard on several levels, not least among them servers carrying hot food and beverages.
Supplemental, quiet forms of kiddie entertainment, such as DVD or MP3 players with headphones, are welcome in some of Kornick's restaurants. "If the restaurant is savvy enough to seat someone right, it's not a terrible thing," he said. "I don't think it should take up space on the table in a fine-dining restaurant."
When in doubt about appropriateness, ask the server or host. Different restaurants have different business models. Kornick feels strongly, however, that parents should venture beyond child-themed restaurants.
"The worst thing is choosing a restaurant," he said, "and they're happy and you're not."
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