Toddlers and Restaurants?

Question

How the heck do I calm my 2 year old in a nice resaurants???? He screams, yells for no reason, says MAAA MAAAAAM LOOOOOOK really loud says hi to everyone in the surroudning tables.... its cute... for 2 minutes. thats it. How can I get him to calm down. DONT tell me nyquil, benadril... etc. ppl mess with me and tell me that but it hurts more than it helps :(

Answer 1

Oh man do I know what you mean!
I have a 1 1/2 year old and I dread taking her to quit events in public! She gets very bored in her high chair so what I do is let her sit by me in the booth or hold her in my lap, let her color or bring a few little toys and then when the food comes out I put her in her high chair and usually let her feed herself that usually entertainers her for a while,
If she gets out of control I have to pick her up and take her outside or just walk her around for a bit but it Will get better!
Good Luck!

Answer 2

I have been that guy at the next table over more times than I can count! I hate it when I go into a restaurant, especially a nice place and there is a screaming kid at the next table over. When I'm paying THAT much for a nice dinner, I want it to be peaceful. Plus its hard to be romantic with a kid screaming and throwing stuff....I've had more good dates ruined by that.....

I guess what I'm saying, is that an elegant, upscale restaurant is no place for children under, say, 8. That's why they make places like McDonald's, Chuck E Cheese, Burger King, etc. where they have a place to play and toys in the meal. If you and your partner want to go somewhere nice, its best to find a sitter and go without the kids.

If you still insist and bringing him nice places, you need to reason with him first. Explain to him that this is a quiet place and he has to behave. Explain that the other people there do not want to be interrupted and that it is rude to disturb their dining experience (use words he understands). If he simply cannot behave, he does not need to be there. Put him in time out---take him to the car for five minutes and return when he has setlled down. There is nothing wrong with spanking a kid either. As long as you only use an open hand on his butt and no more than 2 hits. It will get his attention without hurting him.

As someone else said, it may also be good to practice at home or wait until he's old enough to understand how to act.

Answer 3

I have a bag of toys, books, and other items that he does not see unless we go out to a restaurant that I keep in the car. Even with this truthfully we are only good for about 30 min then he is ready to get out of the seat and get going. We stopped going to nicer restaurants and started to go to Mom and Pop joints or cafes where he will not disturb as many people if there is a issue and we are working our way up to the better ones. Mine is 2 also there is only so much you can expect from them. Good Luck

Answer 4

We take our kids to restaurants all the time, and we often get compliments about them . You need to do two things:
1) Give him clear expectations about his behavior
2) Be prepared for him to act his age.

Our kids know that there is no shouting in public. There is no throwing, screaming or brattiness.

We carry a lot of quiet things for them to do. Crayons, sticker books, books for them to read, and other age-appropriate busy toys. We do not carry video games or video players.

We do pay attention to them, so they aren't bored. If it is a long night, we take them out and walk around outside.

We know about how long they will last without getting crazy, so we go to places that serve pretty fast.

We NEVER, EVER let them run around inside a restaurant. This is extremely dangerous and dumb, and I cannot believe how many parents allow it.

Just be really clear with him about what behavior is expected for him. Make sure he knows that his dessert is on the line, then follow through with it. Pay a lot of attention to him. He'll get it.

If the volume goes up, one of us will take the offender outside until they are calm. Once, I think, we asked them to pack our food and we left. But only once.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Yeah..definitely don't drug him!

Here's what I would do:

Tell him before you go in the restaurant that he needs to be quiet. Tell him "This is a quiet restaurant".

If he starts getting loud after you go in, then tell him "Everyone is being quiet except you..."

A little embarrassment will never hurt anyone. Believe it or not 2 yr. olds know what embarrassment is. He will feel embarrassed and will not like that everyone is looking at him and he will start to calm down.

Make sure once he does quiet down that you praise him for being quiet. "Thank you for being so quiet in the restaurant..maybe we can have dessert since you are being so good."

Others suggest bringing toys to distract him. That's only sending conflicting messages. "This is a fancy restaurant so you need to be quiet, but let's take all your fun games and toys so you can play." That's only confusing him and won't help him to be quiet. If anything, it might make him more rowdy.

Answer 6

You'll hate this response but....

Don't take him anywhere where quietness is expected. Take him to Chuck E Cheeses or any place with a playground or a place to run. Don't make him sit in a high chair. He'll just scream all that much more. You really can't reason with a little toddler about being quiet.

I say get a babysitter for the fancy places and take the kid to noisy places.

Answer 7

I am struggling too with my 2 year old in public. She did well today, we talked about the expectations before we went and I rewarded her for good behavior. We talked about staying with mom, keeping our hands to ourselves and being nice to people (she tends to sass people in public too). She struggled a bit but I know she tried hard so I gave her a prize. I'll just have to continue this until it's automatic.

I read somewhere about not saying the expectations in the negative, so you could say, speak quietly, sit our seats, use our utensils for food only etc etc.

Answer 8

Don't take a toddler to a nice restaurant. Hire a sitter. You can take your toddler to a more kid friendly place like McDonald's or Chuck E Cheese if you want to take him out to eat. When he misbehaves correct him. As he gets older he will learn how to behave. But only if you make him behave and don't just let him get away with acting that way. But for now, he's 2 you can't really expect him to know how to behave in a nice restaurant and it isn't fair to the other diners to take him there.

Answer 9

Amanda I really hope somebody gives some good advice as we have stopped going to restaurants bcoz of my 17 month old. She is uncontrollable and so we get take out . She does the similar things that ur bay does and I know it really annoys other people.
I really dont know when I am going to be able to go to a nice place to eat again !!
The joys of parenting I guess !!!!

Answer 10

start with low key, kid friendly places. i.e. mcdonald's, chick fil-a, burger king. you get the picture. bring along things to keep him busy. colors, a few small cars, etc. work your way up to the more family and "let's be on our best behavior" places. it takes time. two's are not prone to sit still for an hour at a time. lol. give it time and ease him into it.
mom of two kids