These are my recommendations for taking the kids to a restaurant. We have three very young ones, and we eat out regularly. We are able to say they are very comfortable and well behaved. Here’s what we do:

Go out often! We started taking the kids out at just a few months old. Once a week is our usual routine. They are very familiar with the routine. As someone who loves to cook, we take them mostly for the fun and to familiarize them with it. In all these years, we only had to leave early once!

Beat the crowd! Going early has lots of advantages. 1) Service will be faster in a less crowded restaurant. 2) Noisey kids will disturb fewer people, if any. 3) Kids and parents will be less tired.

Discuss the outing. Talk about what is expected on the way to the restaurant. My first question: “What do we do in a restaurant?” The kids’ answers: “We EAT!” We also talk about having to sit the entire time, we do not get too loud and disturb others, and we try not to make a mess. Expectations clear, let’s go!

Do Not let them get bored! Take something for them to do, even if the restaurant offers crayons and paper. A small book, a small puzzle, MagnaDoodle-type toys are great. Make it something that will take time for them to get bored.

Kids Hate to wait! Carry snacks with you so they can start eating right away. Take simple finger snacks but don’t fill up on them. Hand out just a few at a time, like pretzels or grapes.

Order right away! Ask for the kid’s food to arrive first. Have the server place the food in the middle of the table so you can serve portions onto smaller plates. Sometimes having a big plate of food in front of them is intimidating.

Dessert or no dessert? Don’t talk about dessert unless you plan to order it. If you don’t and they ask, tell them something like ‘dessert is at home’ or ‘dinner will fill us up.’ If you do want a sweet treat, say it will be a ‘reward’ for their good behavior and eating well. (If they’re bad and/or don’t eat, do Not order dessert!) Try to guage the size of the dessert to what they actually ate. Order only one or two for everyone to share if they didn’t eat enough dinner and/or the dessert is large.

Praise them! On the way home, talk about what happened, how well they did, how happy you are, how fun it was, and when you will do it again.