Don’t Let Kids Choose a Restaurant
It was hard when I had to tell my kids that I think Chipotle is “okay”. My daughter dropped her fork. My son didn’t give a damn. She was genuinely shocked. He acted it out for effect. I appreciated both answers. But recently my wife and I decided that it was time for our children to no longer dictate where we eat.
You might think this is a recipe for a less enjoyable dinner. But in reality, it has led our kids to discover new foods that they love, and it makes us feel better about spending money on experiences that are different from the typical meals we cook at home.
Here’s how you, too, can neatly get away from letting the youngest common denominator define a restaurant.
Look for restaurants for kids
A kid-friendly approach isn’t just a kids menu (here’s how you can avoid the kiddie menu trap ). Local restaurants, often with chefs who have children of their own, are great for families. There is a vegetarian restaurant next to us with a dedicated children’s play area and sparkling non-alcoholic cocktails that our kids love.
Crowdsourcing it. Ask your friends about the places where the servers greet children, or there are more options on the menu than you might expect.
Let’s talk about money
We give our kids a weekly housework allowance. And we let them spend or save their money without comment if they don’t ask for our opinion. This is their money. But when we go to dinner, we waste our money. So we talked about this fact.
This is a great trait for a walk. You don’t want to make your children worry about family finances. But they may also find that dining out is a pleasure. As soon as we discussed the idea that we were spending money, it led to other conversations about how else we spend our salaries. We talked about payments for a house, a car, and a vacation. I also felt better when our children understand what is worth going to eat in a restaurant.
Do it quickly to get started
Your parental instinct in setting a new paradigm is to go for broke. When you are ready for a change, this is a completely human response. You also doom yourself to battles at the dinner table. If you regularly find yourself in fast food and eateries, then the first step to leaving the roadway is to choose a new option in the world of fast daily life. The counter or bar serving Chipotle model has been expanded to include pizza, chicken sticks, and salads.
If you have young children, this is an easy way to start sitting at a restaurant table and still get in and out fairly quickly without worrying about disrupting the rest of the dining room. And here, everyone still has a lot to choose from. At BiBibop, a fast-paced Korean-style bowl of daily life in our area, my son, who is the more picky of my two children, can get a bowl of meat and rice, and my daughter can load a plate of omelet. eggs and pickled vegetables.
Give everyone a chance to steer the ship
Choosing a restaurant is the same as choosing a movie that everyone in your family will love. You are different people with different tastes.
So one way to solve the dilemma is to empower everyone to make a decision. Establish ground rules and rotation. Give your children the first choice. And then, when your turn comes, feel free to try to broaden your horizons.
Rely on what they like
I know what you’re thinking: the kids will love it when they grab the ice cream burger, but they’ll just complain when it’s my turn. This is where a little preliminary work can be critical. Look for variations on old favorites.
The chicken katsu, which can be found in many Japanese restaurants, is the cousin of chicken fingers. This picky guy? Kid with meat and rice? Now he prefers chicken katsu to chicken sticks. This was what he wanted to eat on his birthday. Our adventurous child? She loves avocado rolls.
And my wife and I? We have sushi dates from time to time.