OT - bringing food to restuarants

[JenetixK]

I'd like some opinions. My daughter is 15 months and we bring food for her to restaurants whenever we go out to eat (not just in Disney). I do this because I know she'll eat the food I bring, most of the time it's healthier than kid meal options, and it's cheaper. So far, it hasn't been a problem at all. Is there some sort of cut off when restaurants expect a child to order from the kids menu instead of bringing food in or sharing an adult's food? What has your experience been? Thanks!

 

[deedeetoo]

We only brought food to restaurants when the kids were eating the mushed baby food from jars. Once they started being able to chew and eat more subtantial solids we started feeding them bits of food from our plates. I don't think we actually ordered kids meals until they were about 3 because they really didn't eat very much.

 

[viviensmama]

I was a waitress for a long time before I got married. People start getting dirty looks when their children are about two if they still bring food in. I think before that it is ok! If you didn't want to carry food for every meal, you would be shocked what restaurants can bring out if you just ask. My daughter is only 8 months and usually eats restaurant food when we go out. You can get plain pasta, plain hamburger patties, grilled chicken, basically anything on the menu without spices or sauce. Just ask!

 

[shoney]

Once my kids ate table food I just fed them whatever we were eating. I did however bring cheerios or gold fish for them to munch while waiting.

They are 8 and 10 right now and are very light eaters. For instance, If we go to outback we order them a side dish...one gets brocolli and the other a baked potato and then they eat from our steak. My 10 year old loves soup. He often will get the soup at a restaurant and pick off our plates. No one has ever said anything to us.

Also, at Dave and Busters where the meal comes with the game card, I will have them order something that you can take home and reheat. If they got a burger, they would take 3 bites and it would go in the garbage. At least a pasta dish reheats well.

If they are very hungry for some strange reason we will order one adult meal and split it between the 2. If they aren't that hungry they will split a kids meal.

We usually order wine with dinner, so the price of the wine makes up for the cost of a kids meal LOL!

 

[MSSANDRA]

I rarely order DGS (3) his own meal but also rarely take in food either. I would often have something with me till he was about 2 in case they did not have something I wanted him to eat.(healthy and alllergy). He and I almost always share everywhere and have never had an problem.

 

[disneyandme]

Multiple food allergies in our family- we always bring food for the kids, even at Disney where they are great with allergies. You never know what will be available or if you will feel comfortable with the chef. Anyway, they are 6 and 10. I don't worry about the looks- as long as the kids eat, I'm happy.

 

[MrsPooh]

We only brought food along while the kids were eating baby food.

Once they transitioned to softer, regular food they usually shared a bit off of our plates. We might give them part of our burger, a fry to munch on, part of the baked potato, veggies or whatever.

I did, however, bring things like crackers, cheerios or goldfish for them to snack on while we waited for the food even after they began to order off the kids menu. Actually I still do bring a pkg of fruit snacks or something for our dd4 if I know she is very hungry and we might have a wait.

 

[SarahKate]

You definitely are fine doing this.

Up until a few years ago (DD is now 7), we would take food w/ us for her if it was a place we knew she wouldn't like.....at the time she didn't care for pizza, or when we'd eat Thai. Not a lot of places, just a few.

Never, ever did anyone give us grief & wait staff welcomed us & served us no differently than anyone else. I'm not about to order something for her that I know she's not going to eat. And think of it this way - if we decided to eat someplace ELSE where we knew DD would eat, that restaurant missed out on business from us. So it's in their best interest to be welcoming to us. At the time, I really could have cared less what people thought - I did what we needed to do in order to eat at the places we wanted.

But, I'm GLAD to say that she's 7 now and we don't need to do that anymore as she eats a lot more different things!

 

[ebtbmom]

DS eats a rotation of about 3 things, so I still take him food in if we're eating somewhere he doesn't like, and he's almost 12! The way I look at it, if we can't bring him food in then me and DH can't eat there and the restaurant is loosing out on that money, so it shouldn't bother them. Plus, it's not like you are hurting anyone by doing it, we usually order him a soda so he's buying something.

 

[Luv Bunnies]

My son is 14 and I still sometimes bring him food in restaurants. He has
Asperger's and has issues with food tastes and textures. He loves cereal, pancakes and bacon so breakfast isn't usually a problem. Lunch and dinner are another story. He likes some chicken strips and fries but will sometimes take one bite and push away the plate because it tasted funny to him or felt weird in his mouth. If we're going to a restaurant that we've been to before, I don't worry since I know what he will and won't eat there. If it's a new place, I carry a small container of peanut butter, a cereal bar and crackers. I can order two plain pieces of bread and make him a peanut butter sandwich or just let him graze on the other things. I've never had a restaurant say anything about it. If they look at me funny I just say he's autistic and has food issues. No one seems to mind at all.

 

[Britgirlus]

Ds6 has always eaten whatever we were eating - even now, we often don't order him a meal, he shares ours - he's not a huge eater. He will eat just about anything - it's amazing what they will eat when they're exposed to it