Food in arms reach...
Written on October 3, 2006 by Kevin.
As Rylan has gotten older, we have had the opportunity to take him out to restaurants that in the past would cause issues. We prepare ourselves with plenty of finger foods and other favorites of his.
One thing that I have noticed recently however is that all of the waiters and waitresses seem to not realize that placing food in front of a child is not a good idea. While we bring snacks for Rylan, we have been serving him off of the kids menu lately. When the waitress brings out the food, they place the food in front of him as they would any other customer. While it is nice that they treat Rylan the same as they would anyone else, placing the food in front of him is definitely not the best idea. As soon as the food is placed in front of him, he grabs for it. He doesn't know better and it seems the waitresses don't either.
The same idea goes for restaurants that provide children with a play mat and crayons. I personally don't know of any children as young as Rylan that are capable of using crayons and not just trying to eat them. Now don't get me wrong, we love the play mats because they can keep him entertained quite well but the crayons are certainly something we take away quickly.
Now I know that assuming things is wrong but I believe that the waitresses that place items in front of the children do not likely have children of their own. It is very clear to me from my own experiences, that as a new parent, you learn things quickly. As a parent, these types of things seem like common sense but it sure appears that it may not be the case.
Have anyone else experienced this?
I agree with you completely on your waitress comment, though you have to wonder if one of them actually does have kids. Usually food is served way to hot and in too large in size for babies/kids to handle. To top things off the restaurant also gives children heavy and very breakable dishes which they don't seem to think the kid will bump or throw or drop in the process of trying to independently eat. We always take a sippy cup with or without juice (if without we get juice or tea since it's free anyways) we also take a small paper plate (we buy the cheap seasonal ones for a dollar or less...we're still on the Santa ones from last year) for food and lastly we take the small metal toddler silverware (can be found sold outside a dish set at Burlington Coat Factory for $3) since getting a small sized utensil is nearly impossible or unheard of. I agree that babies don't need crayons for entertainment, heck my 2 year old still tries to eat them and why Luby's has to give you 2 blue crayons (if you get any) is beyond me. I can't think of what is cheap for a restaurant to give babies for entertainment, though plastic keys just popped into my head; maybe parents should find a few small and quiet toys for their baby. If the restaurant gives you crayons keep them, you'll need them eventually especially since the skinny kind break easily and the fat ones are hard to find.
Written by Jessica on Oct 11, 2006