Dining out with the kids, trial #001

I don't take my kids out to restaurants. My kids and restaurants don't mix.


When it was just my daughter, Maya, we went out all the time. It was pretty easy.

Happy baby in a restaurant

Keeping busy while mommy plans a party

Until baby number two, Julius, came around. Then mommy had less time for her and Maya had to do something to get mommy's attention. Don't get me wrong, she is the most loving big sister around, but she had to get hers too. That made going out a little challenging. Not only that, but the fact that they love sharing mischief with each other and feed off of each other's energy makes for a disastrous combination when out in public.

We've always done our best to tame our spirited little creatures while dining out. I've read numerous books and blogs about taking kids out to eat, but nothing has really worked...not even bringing an iPad to keep them busy during downtime. We've also always been grateful for our fellow dining patrons who do their best to smile or ignore the cloud of craziness that hover over us wherever we went, but I know how we look and I know what some of them are thinking...and you know too.

So after our final disastrous dinner at a fine dining restaurant while visiting family (too traumatizing to discuss in detail), their dad and I decided that we will just get takeout from now on until they turn 10.

Yesterday, however, I felt adventurous. I was tired of sitting at home, but with no babysitter on a Friday evening I decided to be brave and have a family dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.

Why there? Well, because:

- it's less than a mile away

- my kids love pasta

- my co-worker said it's the only place in town she dares to bring her kids because that's where all the families with screaming kids go. 

So why not try it?

As we were driving to the restaurant, I kept envisioning a crowded room full of families with little children, eating, laughing, and screaming. I was positive this was going to be a good experience. When we walk into the place, it is DEAD QUIET! Uh-oh....With only an elderly couple and a group of men in our section, I started to tense up. This isn't how I expected it to be on a Friday night. Where were all the families with the screaming kids we can blend in with?! "Stay positive, Jan. We're already here, we can do this!" I told myself as I breathed deeply into the menu.

We got through ordering our food pretty smoothly. They sat down quietly, took their menus and started coloring. After the waiter delivered our food and left, the next few moments seemed like a blur. Next thing I know Maya is swinging off the table or peeking into the booth next to us asking her brother to join in on the fun, while Julius says"i'm so hungry mommy, feed me!" and "i want my carseat" (he meant his booster) but refuses to eat or sit because he's too busy peeking into the booth next to us and trying to take the picture frame off the wall. How did this happen? Do they have a crazy switch or something? We do well eating at the dinner table at home so why all the commotion here? I tried to take a picture so I can have a souvenir of this comical portrait of our family, but I was too busy making sure our food didn't fall, or our kids didn't fall, or anything else fall. Nothing stopped them. I had brought an arsenal of toys and equipment to keep them busy, i tried to keep them entertained with games and questions and silly songs and stories, but they wanted none of it. They wanted to play with the restaurant.

Finally, as beads of sweat started rolling down my forehead one family came in, then another, and another! After 10 minutes I realized my co-worker was right...this IS where families with screaming kids go. Whew! It looks like we were just a little early for family-with-screaming-kids dinnertime. Too bad we were over the experience and waiting for our check to come.

Overall, it was a great learning experience. Seeing other families just like ours going out to eat made me feel positive we can do this again. It was only our first try, and although it didn't go as well as I had hoped, I'm proud to say i'm not afraid to try again. Way to go Jan! But when that time will come, i'm not so sure yet. When it does, we just have to tweak our approach a little, find the right times and places to go, keep up with our lessons on mannerisms, and hopefully my kids will get used to being out in public (crossing fingers).

If you have any tips and tricks you want to share, please comment below. I would love to hear from you guys.

I just wanted to note here that when I mention "screaming kids" I mean screaming in a playful, childlike manner, when kids are just being kids...enjoying themselves, laughing (sometimes crying because kids cry sometimes) and chattering in their excited little voices.