My son is about to be 17 months old. Here recently he has been pushing the limits. If he does not get his way just about on anything...he gets MAD! Like for example we were at Logan's the other night for about an hour and a half, yes bad service that night. After he ate his food he was ready to get out of the highchair, we told him no and tried to give everthing under the moon that he could play with. That was not cutting it, he cried and screamed litterally for over 7 minutes, until we took him out of the highchair and into our lap. WEll,then of course he wanted to get down and play. I was just so embarrassed, because everybody was looking at us like "why can't you control your kid" I just wanted to get our food to go and go home. He hates being confined and wants to be free at all times. Any suggestions?
When our two oldest boys were little we gave up on eating out. I have had "take out" food from all the best restaurants in Nashville. When we went on vacation we had "take out" food from all the best restaurants at the beach. It was easier than fighting with them to behave in restaurants.
Hi A.,
I've so been there w/my 2 girls. They are much better, but granted they are older. Anyhow, it's good to get out and eat every-so-often. You start them young and hopefully, they will learn how to behave in a restaurant. If I know ahead of time we will be going out to eat, I make sure the girls have released some energy prior to us leaving. So, whether it's going to park, walking or biking down the street, playdate w/friends, visiting the bouncy place, something that will wear them down a little. This might help w/"keeping still" at dinner time. Also, I think it's great that restaurants now have crayons, so even toys, for the kids to play with while waiting for their food. You might want to bring along you kid's favorite toy? One more thing, we tend to request booths. If the little one needs to stretch, he's got some room. Hope this helps.
-L. F.
Murfreesboro, TN
Join the club. My 24 month old does the same thing, out and at home and has been doing it for a long while. I am anxious to read your other responses.
Point: don't be embarrassed and don't feel like the lone lost stranger. It happens to the best of us and it is called life. It will pass.
My husband thinks that she does this when she is tired and to keep herself from getting sleepy or falling asleep. I am not sure I agree. I think it is anytime. But you may want to pay attention to see if that may be the case with yours.
Good luck.
A.,
As a mother of 4 boys let me reassure you that this behavior is completely normal!!! Looking back on my boys ages, I thought that from 1-2 1/2(I have an 11 month old now) were the hardest!!Boys do want to move and eventually he will learn to sit longer and longer(especially if he attends any preschool)
An hour and a half is a long time to wait...as for peoples dirty looks ignore them..they either don't have children(and will be there some day)or they forgot what it was like!
Good luck!
N.
I have the feeling you have a perfectly normal toddler on your hands. Going to restaurants at that age is tough because they're so "into" walking and running around that it stinks when they have to be strapped into a highchair or even a shopping cart for an extended period of time. What we do (and our youngest is almost 27mths) is try to know exactly what we want to order ahead of time. Order the food at the same time we get our drink order and tell the server to please bring the kids their food right away (like with our salads). Then, the kids can work on eating their meals while we enjoy a salad or appetizer. I always try to have a yummy snack or dessert in my purse for when they get finished (if you don't want to deal with ordering a dessert). I also bring along some little toys/activities in there too. When the server brings our main meal, we go ahead and ask for our check and a couple to go boxes. After the kids finally finish, we're in the middle of our meal and I'll break out the gummies or cookies or snack cake. That will tide them over until we're done. By that time the check is paid and we already have our to go boxes and we're outta there! =0) But, curbisde service is an awesome thing, too!
