5 Ways To Have A Fun Date Night At A Restaurant With Your Kids
Introducing your children to various cuisines at an early age can be really beneficial to their personal development as well as creating a better parent/child relationship which can sometimes be lost these days. You could even have a date night with your kids, say, once a month or so, and without going to a fast-food restaurant!
It may take some effort to get them to try something new but, the earlier the better, they will most certainly thank you for it later on in life.
Find Kid Friendly Restaurants
When picking a decent restaurant for your children, you must strike a balance between adult comforts and kid-friendliness, somewhere like the Catalina Rose Bay could be a good place to begin. For starters, not all fine-dining establishments have children’s menus and, whilst your youngster may be able to order from the standard menu, the portion size may be too much for their smaller stomach. If you can locate a restaurant that has a kids’ menu, then you should find that facilities are more suitable.
Plan Ahead of Time What You Will Order For Your Child
Prior to going to the restaurant, have a look on the restaurant’s Facebook page and check out the children’s menu. If you already know that your child is likely to be irritable and restless when it comes to waiting for food, which can take longer with different cuisines then, you could pre order the food.
All you have to do is ask.
On the other hand, you could ask the restaurant if they have anything for kids to do, if for example, they finish first. Some restaurants even have outside ‘safe’ areas for children to enjoy and explore.
Practice, Dining at Home
Why not practice at home first?
Teach your child to behave at the dinner table in the same manner that you would expect them to at a public restaurant. Practicing this activity on a regular basis will assist your youngster to repeat the same activities when dining out. Teach your youngster to speak quietly and to wait patiently for food at the table.
For the best experience you could try by ‘creating’ the setting, make sure there are no home comforts such as turning off the TV and, stashing the tablets and smartphones out of sight, in another room. Without these distractions, your child will have to learn to occupy their thoughts and to become ‘at ease’ with living in the moment.
The Right Place at The Right Time
Getting the timing of your outing right will influence the outcome in every way, if everything is planned properly then it should go smoothly. If, however, you don’t book in advance and kind of, ‘wing it’ then the outing stands a higher chance of turning into a sour one.
Consider things like the travel time and waiting for food etc, these may well be things that your child is not used to which is actually a good thing. Your child can learn a lot from the overall experience in terms of how you manage such an occasion, their minds are like sponges so, it really is up to you to create the best impression possible or to, set an example, if you like, for your offspring to follow in the future.
Laying Your Cards on The Table
Before heading out to eat, sit down with your youngster and discuss your expectations. Explain the table manners you want your child to use, which you should have been practicing as a family anyhow. If your child is old enough, explain why they cannot run or shout at a restaurant and ask them to come up with reasons why. You can really assist your child’s development this way by providing them with understanding, a feeling of responsibility and self-awareness when it comes to thinking of others.
