Restaurants Archives - A Father of Twin Boys

I took the boys out Saturday to lunch and was amazed by the number of people that stopped by and spoke to the boys. And the funny thing, is that most of the parents complimented me on how well behaved that the boys were. I guess because I am with them all the time, I do not think anything of it.

The hardest part for me when we go out to eat, is how messy that they can be sometimes. I have to remember that they are only 1, but still. They drop puffs on the floor. They drop really whatever we give them to eat on the floor to be honest. But all in all, they are good eaters are not as messy as I have seen some. But the one thing that I always do, is I always try to ask our wait staff for a broom so that I can clean up after them. It is not the wait staffs problem that the boys drop their food. Now, in saying that, I have yet to be handed a broom, but I really think that the wait staff just appreciates the offer.

I think that the earlier that you can get your kids into a routine in a restaurant, the better that you’ll all be down the road. And the reality of it, is that a 1 year old, will be messy. That is just part of life. But you can also start by setting a good example by offering to clean up too, so that your children can follow suit in the future.

When eating out at restaurants one of the things that we have started doing is that as long as adults are eating at the table, the boys will remain in their high seats. And the reason that we have done this, is that we do not want the boys to get into the habit of going out and being walked around the restaurant. We want our kids to be respectful of the adults at the table and allow the adults to eat their meal as well.

We have all been out to eat before, watched families walking around the restaurants with their screaming children and not eating. Our goal is really to get the kids use to eating out at restaurants, but more importantly sitting in their seats and behaving themselves. Yes, the boys are still young, but part of raising your children is the repetitiveness. So, the more that we can get use to being in restaurants the better off that we will be in the long run.

Take toys with you to help keep them occupy them, give them finger foods, or just talk with then while they are at the restaurant. Teach them now, that their appropriate behavior is to remain seated while everyone eats and then they maybe excused when the meal is finished and there will not be problems down the road with your kids wanting to get up constantly while everyone is eating.