The Challenge Of Taking The Children To A Restaurant
Over time we will remember with humor our visits with the children to a restaurant. We can bet that most of us have a funny anecdote from these moments.
What makes this task difficult is related to the social norms to which we are accustomed. If not for this matter, the problems would be reduced. At home, the children put their faces in the plate, eat with their hands, sit on the table and nothing happens.
However, transferring all that bad behavior to a public place can be very embarrassing. In those moments, we wish we had stepped in when they had their typical food tantrums.
Children and restaurants
Without fear of being wrong, anyone can say that restaurants were not invented for children. In most cases they are designed to be enjoyed by adults. They are meeting places, where most of our social skills are put into practice. Skills that, as we know, children take time to develop.
The space, furniture and tableware in a restaurant are not suitable for children. Despite everything, it is known that there are special chairs for little ones, and a special menu is also designed on many occasions.
As parents we try to avoid taking them if it is not necessary. Invitations generally do not include children. In most cases a meal out requires hiring a caregiver.
However, some food chains have been in charge of serving this type of audience. In many cases we can find a correct place to take our little ones to eat. Despite this, some parents say that this task is still an odyssey. Apparently, taking children to a restaurant is difficult no matter where you look.
Why is it so difficult to take children to a restaurant?
The difficulty of taking children to a restaurant begins when we are still first-timers. As might be expected, all the activities that we do with our little ones for the first time can be complicated. Other mothers tell us that their experiences were terrifying, even though their visits to the restaurant were with very young babies.
The first thing that scares us are their cries and screams. For some reason the little ones seem to reflect our stress right now. On the other hand, if children cry at home it is not as stressful as if they cry in a place where they should not.
Also, our fear is related to not knowing how to act. When they are very young, we believe that we are going to make them uncomfortable by taking them to a place that is not like for him. At the same time, we pray that not a pin will sound to wake you up or scare you.
We are convinced that people who are in a restaurant without their children want to have a good time, they are not there to hear the cries of our children. There is also the fact that they can annoy others, running around the place or breaking something.
In any case, it represents a challenge for which we know we are not prepared. Neither children know how to behave, nor do we know how to treat them. It is not the same to threaten or correct them at home, than with all those people watching.
Baby led weaning
Today, experts recommend a technique called “baby led weaning” to introduce children to food once breastfeeding is over.
This way of eating promises to improve children’s behaviors in the medium and long term, although it is not linked to a reduction in obesity according to the journal “JAMA Pediatrics”.
The method consists of leaving various foods within the reach of the child and that he becomes familiar and interacts with them little by little.
However, these types of dietary behaviors are difficult to carry out in a restaurant, as they require breaking the basic rules of coexistence.
To keep in mind!
In general, a restaurant is a poor place to take children. The norms of social conduct do not allow their spontaneous behavior, which can cause us some discomfort.
For children to become familiar with the different products and learn basic and healthy eating rules, it is best that the meals are carried out at home.
