Nice Dinners With Little Kids Are Very Possible!
It was one of those super fancy Japanese restaurants with mood lighting and a well dressed crowd as my husband and I sat there perusing the menu with our 2 year and 5 year old.
Okay, if you have kids, I know what you are thinking—we must have been out of our minds.
Let me tell you that this was not the first time we took our kids there, or any other restaurant we, as adults wanted to try.
This particular night, we could see the nervousness of the people around us, as I remained completely un-phased, and not one bit nervous.
It was obvious that they were getting ready to say a word or two to us crazy parents who dare bring anyone under the age of 25 to this place. They probably anticipated that our kids would be loud or unruly, and ruin their wonderful evening.
They waited all night. Nothing happened. My kids didn’t cry, scream, or yell. They didn’t break a glass or their dainty beautiful ceramic plates
What did happen though, was we had a couple of people come up to us as we were leaving and compliment us on just how well behaved our children were all evening.
Here is the thing—when you have that communication with your children, yes, even at that young age, you have a way you relate with them, and talk to them—and you have put all the necessary ingredients in place, this type of outing is very possible.
Well, what are these “ingredients” you may be asking. Here are a few of them:
I had decided that as soon as my kids could eat solid foods, I would not be missing any dinners out, and even at those nice places.
Learning to behave started at the dinner table at home—including nice music and conversation.
I set clear expectations for my kids.
They were filled in on what was coming up and what to expect.
You may not want to take your kids our every single time—naturally. But you also don’t want to and may not be able to leave them at home every time either. Besides, you are teaching them so much more than just learning to “behave” when they are out.
To be honest, I was more nervous about the behavior of all those adults, with their fearful looks than I was about any potential issues with my kids.