California Grill with Baby

[kboo]

My son is 18 months right now. We go early for dinner (like 5:00). We try to go to places that is one of these things: fast-casual style, has a lot of tvs, or will bring something out to eat right away (bread, side of fruit, etc.). Really, as long as my son has his cup of milk, he's happy. He loves to eat...he can finish an entire kid's meal many places (and he weighs 30 lbs...).

I think it all goes back to repetition though. We go out to eat usually once a week (sometimes twice), and he's just really used to it.

Some kids this age are interested in the crayons most restaurants give kids, but mine just throws them on the ground.

Not the OP here, but I asked the question about the 17 month old. I think we have the same toddler! Crayons are good for a few scribbles and then throwing on the ground and saying, "Uh oh!" We are currently "in training" with YDD and she's slowly doing better and better. I realized that since ODD no longer needs stickers, etc to occupy herself at the table, I've stopped bringing them (I got lazy), which really isn't fair to YDD. YDD LOVES to eat, and I remember now that most WDW restaurants not only have the crayons and kids menus, but also bring some bread and other stuff pretty quickly to soothe the hangry toddlers. Also - we do the early dinner time ALL the time, at home and on vacation.

to the OP: As I recall, 9mo was pretty easy since there wasn't this urge/need to WALK EVERYWHERE. YDD now is good while eating, and actually using utensils, but as soon as she is done, she rips her bib off and wants to go for a post-dinner stroll or sit on someone's lap and eat their food too.

Luke is almost 4 now and he is a champ in restaurants and during travel and I really think it's because we did it so much when he was little that it is second nature. We just got back from 2 weeks in Europe and both kids were PERFECT! I could hardly believe it, but the boring museums, the fancy restaurants, the 20+ hours of flying...they took it all in stride and didn't fuss or complain. They were polite and well-mannered and I was so proud of them. (All the flight attendants, servers, etc. were very impressed too!)

That is awesome! We took the kids to Hawaii in January and ... they did great, but I think we will wait another 3-4 years before going back. It's just LONG flights from the East Coast. Planning to go to Paris next summer- ODD really wants to go, and she doesn't remember when we took her as a baby. Practice does help, as does making sure they're not overtired when it's time to sit and eat.

 

[Lupeix]

9 months is the perfect age to go to a nice restaurant IMO. My peds calls the age between 7 months and walking the "restaurant age", they are interested in looking around but not too wiggly yet. I took DS last year to WDW when she was 9 months and she did great in all restaurants. What worked for us was to bring a travel placemat (I use the summer infant tiny dinner) and put little bit of finger sized foods at a time. Whatever she could eat form my plate and plenty of puffs/ mum mums. Finger foods were interesting and enough work still to take some time. I will just make sure you are not going with a tired baby so time your meal wisely. 18 months to 2 yo however is a completely different thing. Both of my kids have gone out to eat regularly since they were very little and the terrible 2s and nice restaurants are always a risky proposition .

 

[bladiator]

I'm glad I stumbled across this thread. I am going to be going to WDW with a 1 year old (like, 12 months) on our next trip, and I was worried about where I would be able to take our baby. I have always been the one that has looked sideways at people with crying babies, and now I feel like I'm getting my comeuppance! But I'm glad to hear that as long as your baby isn't screaming that most people understand a bit of noise from my child. Especially since Narcoosee's is one of my favorite restaurants ... I didn't want to miss out!

 

[dmea10]

We've taken both kids out to eat since they were babies. ODD, now almost 6, is a dream to take to restaurants. She's an adventurous enough eater so she doesn't need a kid's menu anywhere (though she likes the ones at Disney but she always orders the more "adult" things on the kids' menu), she sits well, and behaves like a much older kid at a restaurant. She loves going out to eat. At WDW she's been to Cali Grill, Narcoosees, Flying Fish, Artist Point, and Citrico's, as well as CRT multiple times and other character meals. If I just had her, I'd say, YES, getting them used to restaurants early, and enjoying it, is key.

Our 17 month old is another story. She's been going out as often as her sister, and we usually go to VERY casual diners, etc. She's been getting better, but it really seems to depend on whether she's hungry. When she's hungry she will sit calmly and eat very nicely, and she's getting much better at using utensils. But as soon as she's full, she wants to rip off her bib and sit in a grownup's lap. I suppose she is still ok sitting in a grownup's lap, but it's hard to enjoy the food when she's on my lap... Also, she usually doesn't have the patience to sit in the high chair and wait while the food hasn't arrived yet. I may be misremembering, but I thought ODD was a bit better at this age.

Also - we bring snacks and a few things to play with, but have a very strict, "no electronics at the table" rule for everyone at the table, including the grownups. I'm pretty sure it would be easier if we let them play with our phones or brought an iPad, but I really don't want to go down that road...

I am with you on the electronics rule. And if your going to let the kids use electronics please understand that nobody wants to hear your child's game or show and use headphones!