" HELP! How to Get 18 Month Old to Stay Calm While Going Out to Eat"

What works for me is to have tons of snacks. I keep Gold Fish, the baby dried fruit and cherrios in my bag at all times. And I just give them to him a little at a time. If I give him a small plastic cup to go with them it is even better. He puts the snacks in and out, in and out.

A Friend of mine takes a protable DVD player with her and her daughter and that works for her.

Sometimes nothing works, but usually that works for me. Their attention span is very short, so you have to keep them pre-occupied at all times.

Also... screw everyone else. Who cares what anyone else thinks. Kids are going to be kids. Anyone who has kids will understand.

Good luck.

A couple of quick ideas: make sure it's not naptime or bedtime for sure, give her something to eat as soon as you get in there - something she can eat with her own hands: crackers, bread, or bring her favorite food with you (and make sure she's not already got a full tummy when you get there). And just remember you're not alone. Taking my 2 year old out to eat can sometimes end in getting up and leaving. There's no "quick-fix". Just time and age. Good luck.

You could also try eating at McDonalds, parks, or less "attention-getting" places first-as well as home.

Hi. I also have an 18th month old daughter that I had this problem with. What we started doing is 1) Always try and get a booth 2) let her stand in the booth with you and play at first 3) Ask for her food to come out asap. 4) Llet her eat while standing and playing at first 5) Don't put her in the high chair till your food comes. This has really worked for us and has made going out to eat much more enjoyable. Hope it helps!!

Have you tried just leaving the restaurant? Once is all it takes for my son and he sits like a little angel. Once I had to take him more than once and just asked the server to place our meals in a to go container and went home. Sometimes you just have to remove them from the situation.

I have two boys, 12 and 9---when they were young they learned that if their behavior was unacceptable in public, they would be removed from whatever activity we were enjoying as a family. In a restaurant I would take them outside and talk to them about their behavior, explaining that if it does not change we can finish our meal at home. I have even had a meal our two put into to go boxes to show them the consequences. After a couple of times this worked. I would think your 18 month old daughter can understand this well enough. Just be patient and explain it to her. My sons knew there were certain expectations of them when we were in public places and they learned that if they did not follow the rules we could go back home (children love to be out and about so it worked for us)....Good Luck!

I had and still occassionally have the same problem with my 2 yr old. The BEST thing I have found to do it take him outside the restaurant and let him scream out his tantrum. I just keep telling him when he is done we will go back inside and until then we are stay outside. And i make him stand there in front of me until he is done and then he has to kiss me to say he is sorry and we go back inside and he 100% a different person. Just remove her from the situation and let her have her tantrum. It works everytime.

Hi!

We used to have this same problem and sometimes do. But how are her eating habits at home? I would work at home first, making sure she sits down with you to eat dinner togther. Once she grabs the concept that eating isn't playtime, it will probably be a lot easier to take her out.

My daughter used to love eating while playing, walk around, come back to eat etc. We learned the hard way, she's so hard to take out. With my son, we make sure he sits down to eat as a baby IN ONE SPOT! I love that highchair :) He is really good when we go out. We are trying to change my daughters bad eating habits, and with time she has gotten better! :)

Good Luck! At 18months it's hard to keep them still, but they do adjust and get used to things, it's just setting boundaries and sticking to them. Along with home time and some new toys at the restaurant this should help.

I think 18 months is a bit early to expect an active little one to sit still for too long. On the up side it's probably because she just wants to adventure and discover new things. We went through the same thing and we almost stopped going to restuarants all together but then we got a portable DVD player. I've seen them for as little as $60 and you could top it off by getting the Leapfrog Letter Factory and she'll be learning her ABC's in no time. If the price is an issue then consider not eating out a few times and the money you save will pay for the DVD. They have rechargable batteries and they're small enough to slip into a diaper bag. This worked wonders for us. Good luck.

Well at 18mo it's IMO to much to ask that they sit still for very long. I have a 29mo and once he's done eating he's done and wants down. We eather deal w/it, take turns keeping him occupied or leave him w/a sitter. Thye will eventually get it, I have 4 step kids so I have BTDT before.

My daughter was a little wacko then too. She is 2 and a half now and behaves well now (she has her moments though). I found it is best to go when she is acutally hungry, so that way they know the reason for going to this place, to eat not play. We started going to a kid friendly places, like a local pizza place, or a local diner where it is ok if she wants to run around a little. I found it best to try out more kid friendly places first to get her acclimated to going out. But she will grow out of it. :) I promise.

i go thru the same thing. they have a short time span we've noticed. if we have to be there more than 45 min. to an hour forget it. so if the server sucks i put my foot down and tell them my kids will only last so long in here. and i'll get the server to kindof speed things up. i dont like taking them to mcdonalds inside, cause thats not going to teach them anything when they see a bunch of other kids running and playing around. i like to go out to dinner usually about twice a month.
i go to restaurants that are loud inside already, so my kids dont really seem loud. smokey bones is great, they have the speaker to the tv on your table and some times you can get them to change one tv to suite you kid... TGI fridays is great too. its always loud in there. olive garden is too quiet. i will not leave a restaurant if i think some one is unhappy with my kids. having kids doesn't mean you have to stay at home all the time. the more you take them out. the more they'll get used to it. i usually just bring a box of crayons and coloring book form the house. i dont really brings toys. that seems to cause more problems sometimes. just go out and enjoy yourself and don't worry what other people think. you need your time too.

You just have to try every month or so, but don't expect anything to change until she's at least 26 or 27 months.
Good luck!