Strategies for Dining with a toddler

[fraggle]

We just took a mini vacation to get ready for WDW in Sept. and my 15 month old DD was a monster in the restaurants! Luckily my 3 year old DD was an angel. I guess we ate out more before my second daughter was born so my oldest is used to eating out. I tried to stock my diaper bag with all sorts of distractions- the only thing that worked for a little while was stickers. If any one has any ideas about how to keep a toddler occupied and in the highchair for at least part of the meal I would appreciate it! Thanks!

 

[Jordan's MOM]

We have always eaten out a lot with our DS and I remember around 15 months being a very hard age. They are not old enough to understand rules and waiting but are very mobile! A couple things that I remember that worked well was to not put him into the high chair untill the food came. That way he was not so tired of sitting too early. Booths are also great. You can put your child between you and the wall and they have a little bit of movement room.
I found that items that they don't see all the time keeps their attention a little longer. Try lift the flap books. DS loved Spot about this age but a disney one would be cute for the trip.Finger foods that will not fill her up too much such as ceral is good plan too. Stickers as you mentioned are great. They have these throw a way placemats for toddlers now that would provide a great place for stickers.
Sometimes taking a walk with mom or dad while waiting for the food can be a nice diversion.
At disney mosts all resturants are kid friendly and have lots of things to see and do. Character meals would be an idea unless you think she might be afraid of the characters. Another suggestion might be the Coral Reef. The fish are great to keep the little one occupied. Also try to time meals so that she is not overly tired or too hungrey to wait for food. Also remember that you will never see these people again.LOL. No you don't want to disturb others with your child but remember this is disney, full of resturants that are used to tired normal kids.
Have fun and don't worry.

Jordan's mom

 

[*123JOANNA123*]

Can I second the suggestion that you wait till the food arrives to put them in the highchair? It's a good idea to produce a new toy/book/piece of food at this stage too.

On occasion we have taken turns wheeling our little one up and down outside the restaurant in a stroller before the food arrives- this minimizes the 'being-in-one-place' boredom factor and sometimes has the added bonus of putting a tired toddler to sleep.

 

[cinmell]

We are also trying to prepare our daughter for eating out in WDW. I never go to a restaurant without stickers, crayons/coloring book, cheerios and juiceboxes. Also, my daughter is 22 months so I bring the princess/pooh snacks. These thinks can go a long way! I have tried not putting my daughter in the highchair until the food came, however, she did not want to go in it once she got a taste of sitting with us in the booth. Good luck and like Jordan's Mom said, relax and have fun you'll be in Disney!

 

[crisi]

Have your choices picked out before you sit down (most Disney restaurants post the menu outside the door). Then, as you are being seated, tell the hostess you are ready to order. Explain to the waitperson that your toddler has a short attention span and anything that can be done to hurry the meal would be appreciated (by you and everyone else in the restaurant).

This can cut 20 minutes from your meal - and worked wonders when mine were little.

 

[TiggerPU88]

Hi!

Our DS is 11 months (and we are going to WDW/DCL in 6 weeks!). We go to restaurants with him at least twice each week. We start out with snacks and sometimes baby food from a jar or baby cereal. We order his food as soon as the server arrives at the table. Then, we order ours as soon as possible afterward. I have found that he can last for 45-60 minutes, as long as he can keep munching (or reading or playing). Too much over an hour and he gets fussy.

I hope this helps!

-- Adrienne : )

 

[fraggle]

Just wanted to say Thank You for all your tips and give you an update. Armed with all of your ideas we decided to try a restaurant again and she was even worse! We ordered and the waitress brought out my soup and she started to scream! Luckily the restaurant had an outdoor patio so we moved out there. We would have just left if our food hadn't arrived so quickly, I still feel so bad for the people in the restaurant who had to witness her fit while they were enjoying their meal. After I wheeled her around in the carriage for a while she calmed down and we were actually able to eat our meal and have desert out on the patio. But I don't think I will be trying to go in any restaurants any time soon!

 

[Ali]

This is a sore subject around here.. even the local newspaper is asking resturant owners if they are child friendly, or if they prefer not to have kids in the lace. Just my 2 cents worth here - my son is 17 months old and very very active. He can not sit still for 2 minutes at home in his high chair, so we don't even try to go to resturants with him. We haven't eaten in a resturant other than mcdonalds with play places since he has been mobile. I know when I am in a sit down resturant without him, (it does happen occasionally), I am bothered by screaming kids who really have gone beyond the limits of their patience. I feel sorry for everyone in the resturant and especially the kids who are just being kids. I do not inflict my son's behaviours on others who deserve some peace and quiet while they eat and I would like to see other parents do the same.

Now, having said that, there are many other options for eating at Disney than sit down resturants... and eating while he sleeps in a stroller always helps. Just be aware of your kids limits and work within them - it is not time to go to Victoria and Alberts, and probably not even to rainforest cafe because of the long waits.

 

[DVC-LEROY]

Let's face it - if you're at WDW you're going to be at a restaurant with lots of kids, and they're going to be tired, wired, fidgeting and cranky at some point (parents too!). Welcome to Disney World! There are very few - if any - restaurants that are actually quiet anyway. I keep telling the first timers that are travelling with us this year to expect noise and chaos - and to just go with the flow. We've been taking our son to restaurants since he was 9 months old - he's now 4 and it almost seems like its getting harder to keep him occupied during dinner. He's had very few outbursts but it's happened and I wouldn't be surprised by anything happening after a long day at the parks. One of us has always taken him out in a stroller during meals or walked around with him just so he doesn't get too bored - especially since he almost always has eaten before we get to the restaurant. Books, stickers, and other distracters are helpful - but don't worry about what others think while you're at Disney - just take a look around the restaurant and you'll see that you're not alone.

 

[erinch]

you might consider using a fairy godmother for a special meal, time with your 3yo dd?

My DS still remembers as a high point of a trip when his little DD was a 16 mo "monster" when we left her behind and had a lovely meal just with him. Helped make up for all the meals we ate with one parent or the other outside walking her up and down while the other gobbled food

 

[Jordan's MOM]

I would still try a meal at WDW with your child. She might be so in awe of characters, themes or what ever that she behaves herself. A couple ideas in case she will not tolerate a resturant. Wolfgang Pucks express(DD) is suppose to have great food that your can get and eat outside at tables near by. I have not eaten here myself but have heard great things about it. Another idea would be to "eat your way around the world" at World Showcase. Different from most counter service but most outside and on the go that may be easier on your child. Another idea is room service at your resort after your children are in bed. You can get them something from counter service or from room service before you put them down. A last idea might to be to plan a meal around your DD's nap time and let her sleep in the stroller while you all eat. At least worth a try. Good luck and don't WORRY.

Jordan's mom

 

[Magic2000]

As a mother of three girls, I can certainly say - Been there, done that! I do have to say that we were really lucky, 90% of the time, my girls were really good in restaurants (including restaurants here at home). On those rare occasions, I'd have to be really creative to keep them quiet.

First, when they were toddlers, I always fed them a little something before we got to the restaurant. That kept them from being starving while we waited. Then, a book or toy that they don't normally play with, maybe a new toy. Then, and this always worked for me -- Take a packet of sugar and let them lick their finger and dip it in the sugar. They loved it. By that time, dinner was served and we were fine.

When they got to be a little older, maybe 3 or 4, we would always bring their new friend (on each trip, they always got one new stuffed animal) to the restaurant. It was their job to be sure their "friend" was a good girl in the restaurant and minded their manners.

On occasion, if it had been a long day, I would just let them sleep through dinner. When they woke up later, I would get them some dinner.

Don't worry...it'll all work out!!!

 

[Hadjii]

What about trying one of the buffet type restaurants? Your meal is immediately ready. You can switch off with the kids and make your plates. And don't forget the characters........ Every time I've been to Crystal Palace or one of the others, the children seemed well behaved while they were waiting for Pooh to make his way to their table. I'm going to be bringing my two year old niece for the first time in October and this is our plan. Crossing my fingers now...... - Nancy

 

[melk]

I was reading this thread with interest as we'll be in the same boat with our youngest on our next trip. I did want to share one thing NOT to do. We went out for breakfast this past Sunday morning with the kids in tow. The baby (15 mo.) did pretty well until the very end when we were all trying to stuff in our last few bites. She was fidgety so I gave her the containers of sugar packets and jelly packets to play with. She was taking them out, putting them back, etc. Aaah, peace. NOT! She grabbed a little sealed container of maple syrup on the table and proceeded to bite on it as hard as she could. Before I could even grab it away, it had exploded open and she was covered in syrup. It was so disgusting and incredibly sticky. So one word of advice, don't let her play with the maple syrup packet!!!

 

[SnoWhiteRabbit]

KEep the meals as short as possible! Like one poster said, know what you are all going to order and order right when you are seated. Also, skip the soup and dessert -- this will only make the meal longer.

Good luck!

 

[fraggle]

Again thanks to everyone for your support and suggestions. To melk-I think that there is something in syrup that makes it impossible to clean with wet wipes!

So here is our plan-tell me what you think-
We are staying in FW in a cabin so breakfast will be no problem. I also figure on coming back each day for a nap/rest/swim whatever each person in our party needs. I also figure that each day since we will be coming back to the cabin anyways that we can either have a lunch or a dinner at the cabin each day. So that just leaves us with 5 meals out plus one on the day we arrive. I already have a PS for H+V for lunch(with Characters). One night I figure we will eat our way around the world(Thank you Jordan's Mom) since both my daughters would rather snack anyways! The rest of the meals will probably be in MK. Not sure on these yet since it may depend on where we are in MK at the time.

-Meredith

 

[mryder]

My son is 2 1/2 now and going out to dinner is a crap shoot. Sometime he is fine and other times he is a nightmare

Remember to take some toys along that the baby can play with at the table. My son loves match box cars so that usually does the trick. Lots of good ideas in this thread.

Good luck

 

[Gillian]

I actually prefer it if my 2 yo son's food doesn't come right away, as long as he isn't starving when we get there. It is easier to amuse him when we first get there, and when he starts getting restless, the food arrives! He eats less than we do, but more slowly, so we usually all finish at the same time.

We eat out fairly often & I've tried very hard to amuse him WITHOUT taking him out of his highchair. I was hoping he wouldn't ever learn "out" but he finally did. Oh well!

 

[cinmell]

I forgot to add this in my previous post, but I have to avoid sit down meals when my daughter is tired because she's cranky and won't sit still. She's in a much better mood when she's rested therefore, she's much easier to entertain.

 

[The Duchess]

Went to WDW with two year old DS two years ago.
These are my tips!
Always order Room Service for breakfast. When you figure it out, not much more expensive than eating out. Also forces you out of bed in the morning with a great cup of coffee right there!
If DS had good breakfast, I didn't worry so much about the other meals.
On particulary grouchy days, we ordered dinner from Room Service, too. The food is really quite good.
Remember, this is WDW and they're used to kids! I don't feel as bad when he misbehaves here as I do at home.

Order fries or pizza or whatever their favorite thing is immediately upon sitting down. Milkshakes are sort of nutritious in a pinch.
If you have a video camera with the mini screen playback VCR function, let them watch it during dinner. This worked for us.

Also, grandma and grandpa were with us, which was a big help.

We're going back this October with now even more rambuctious four-year-old.