Bring outside food to restaurant for child

[Anonymous]

My DS was an extremely picky toddler. He would only eat pot roast or steak, pancakes, plain spaghetti and broccoli. I made him his own meals at home while continuing to push new foods. It stressed me out so much. Somehow we managed to find restaurants to eat at during that period. He now eats so many different things. He is still funny about some things and we don't push it anymore. He will eat indian food, sushi, all seafood, thai etc. He still hates chili and mashed potatoes & gravy. lol

[Anonymous]

It sounds like physical and occupational therapy is in
order for the child who has sensory processing issues.
The therapists expand the number of foods child
will eat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This sensory stuff for non-sn kids is getting absurd. Feed your kid before you go out to eat.

+1000 As if going out to eat is a right - it's a privilege people! Same boat needs to be sailed with all the emotional needs animal owners. You suck. Everywhere I go now I gotta deal with your pets and associated animal droppings and hair because you can't keep your feelings under control under you're touching Gizmo the Wonder Dog.

The entitlement these days drive me batty. Some lady brought her emotional support animal into the library and it was jumping on people as she was checking out. It was on a leash, but she was ignoring it. It almost took out a lady with a walker. My son will break out in hives on contact with a dog. I was pissed and said something to her.

I don't blame you. We're becoming a nation of sensitive - or shall I say "triggered" "introverted" morons who can only deal with people online with an avatar and expect everyone around them in real life to cater to whatever "need" or "requirement" or "accommodation" they can come up with. And FWIW, I'm a liberal woman and these baby adults are truly disappointing to us all and we wonder "what's wrong with these kids these days?!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I believe that most sensory issues come because parents are not good cooks when kids are young. Rare is a true feeding issue in kids. The reason this post is so loaded is that we all believe you contributed to your child sensory issue and don't believe you that it is a medical issue.

Totally agree. You rarely (meaning almost never) heard about “sensory disorders” when my kids were little. They are young adults now. Yes, there are rare medical conditions that make feeding difficult. But 99.9% of the time it’s poor parenting.

Eh I have plenty of family in their 60s who talk about how picky their kids were. My nephew, now in his late 30s, wouldn't eat much other than pbj growing up and I can assure you it wasn't from poor cooking or lack of stern parenting. My MIL talks about how picky her kids were until adulthood, she struggled with it. My FIL near 70 barely eats more than white bread, eggs, meat and potatoes and a completely plain salad and has visible angst at going to a restaurant. Just because it wasn't talked about or given a name back then doesn't mean it didn't exist.

Is this nephew the son of these 60 year olds who were and are picky eaters? Nobody mentioned stern parenting as the cause of picky eating, clearly it is the usually the opposite of stern parenting that causes eating issues. You know what most kids not in the US in the last 50 years ate when they didn't like what was cooked? Nothing. And nobody worried about it. If I didn't like the lunch grandma cooked, she most certainly did not make me a sandwich of any kind! Just the fact that your nephew had the pbj sandwiches speaks of why he became a picky eater.

This is correct. If a kid in the 60's or 70s did not eat what was served for a meal kid did not eat until next meal. No special meals were made. This was the norm in
society.

Yes. And it still sometimes resulted in a picky eater. My mom did this and I did starve myself, I remember it. And going to restaurants wasn't the big common thing as much then as it is now. And if people did have to drag their kid out to one, sometimes they still snuck the kid something else to eat to shut them up to get through the meal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi Op, haven’t read the whole thread, but wanted to chime in. My 6 year old is an extremely picky eater, but will eat pepperoni pizza like nobody’s business. When the rest of the family wants to go out to eat to a non pizza serving place, we bring a small pepperoni pizza for him to eat. We do this almost weekly and have not had any comments from any establishment. We are a 4 person family, but usually order a lot of food and drinks. We make up for the 6 year old not eating. Now admittedly, we aren’t doing this at Komi or Pineapple & Pearls and we tip well.

I just can't fathom doing this with a 6 year old who, it seems, doesn't have any particular SN and is just a picky eater.

When do you plan on pulling the cord on this? There has to be some point where you won't feel ok bringing a slice of pizza for your kid, and how is your kid ever going to learn to broaden his horizons?

A lot of the work to expand his palate should be done at home -- and I hope you are doing what you can for your sake and your kid's -- but you also need to get him accustomed to trying things in restaurants. But he isn't going to do that if he knows he can just have pizza.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I believe that most sensory issues come because parents are not good cooks when kids are young. Rare is a true feeding issue in kids. The reason this post is so loaded is that we all believe you contributed to your child sensory issue and don't believe you that it is a medical issue.

Totally agree. You rarely (meaning almost never) heard about “sensory disorders” when my kids were little. They are young adults now. Yes, there are rare medical conditions that make feeding difficult. But 99.9% of the time it’s poor parenting.

Eh I have plenty of family in their 60s who talk about how picky their kids were. My nephew, now in his late 30s, wouldn't eat much other than pbj growing up and I can assure you it wasn't from poor cooking or lack of stern parenting. My MIL talks about how picky her kids were until adulthood, she struggled with it. My FIL near 70 barely eats more than white bread, eggs, meat and potatoes and a completely plain salad and has visible angst at going to a restaurant. Just because it wasn't talked about or given a name back then doesn't mean it didn't exist.

Is this nephew the son of these 60 year olds who were and are picky eaters? Nobody mentioned stern parenting as the cause of picky eating, clearly it is the usually the opposite of stern parenting that causes eating issues. You know what most kids not in the US in the last 50 years ate when they didn't like what was cooked? Nothing. And nobody worried about it. If I didn't like the lunch grandma cooked, she most certainly did not make me a sandwich of any kind! Just the fact that your nephew had the pbj sandwiches speaks of why he became a picky eater.

This is correct. If a kid in the 60's or 70s did not eat what was served for a meal kid did not eat until next meal. No special meals were made. This was the norm in
society.

Yes. And it still sometimes resulted in a picky eater. My mom did this and I did starve myself, I remember it. And going to restaurants wasn't the big common thing as much then as it is now. And if people did have to drag their kid out to one, sometimes they still snuck the kid something else to eat to shut them up to get through the meal.

Mine would starve. I would prefer to starve too. Ours usually will find something now and will try. But if any concern over the menu and mine eats before we go. No big deal. Not worth a power struggle.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Op, haven’t read the whole thread, but wanted to chime in. My 6 year old is an extremely picky eater, but will eat pepperoni pizza like nobody’s business. When the rest of the family wants to go out to eat to a non pizza serving place, we bring a small pepperoni pizza for him to eat. We do this almost weekly and have not had any comments from any establishment. We are a 4 person family, but usually order a lot of food and drinks. We make up for the 6 year old not eating. Now admittedly, we aren’t doing this at Komi or Pineapple & Pearls and we tip well.

I just can't fathom doing this with a 6 year old who, it seems, doesn't have any particular SN and is just a picky eater.

When do you plan on pulling the cord on this? There has to be some point where you won't feel ok bringing a slice of pizza for your kid, and how is your kid ever going to learn to broaden his horizons?

A lot of the work to expand his palate should be done at home -- and I hope you are doing what you can for your sake and your kid's -- but you also need to get him accustomed to trying things in restaurants. But he isn't going to do that if he knows he can just have pizza.

To be honest, this isn’t a hill we want to die on. We would like to expand his palate but he just isn’t there yet. When he is ready to “broaden his horizons” we have no doubt he will. When he discovered pizza, it was like Christmas Day! He eats the same thing for lunch four days a week at school and gets pizza one day a week. We try new things at dinner, and he will just not eat. He doesn’t whine or pout about it. He respectfully says “I don’t want to try that” or will try it and say he doesn’t like it. We tried “he’ll eat when he’s hungry” and not offer his favorites, he went 58 hours without eating and only drank water.

A year ago he was ONLY eating Chana Masala, rice and Cheerios (that lasted from about 18 months to 5 years old). Pepperoni on pizza and ground beef (in spaghetti only) is the only meat he will eat, and he just started eating spaghetti this past summer. Kid is on the spectrum, but out of all the issues we’ve taken a loss on, eating pizza is a win. He plays a mean piano, knows his multiplication tables and reading on a 2nd grade level. We will pull the cord when it seems appropriate for him. We parent based on what works for our family. As far as being rude, we are discreet when bringing in food, but I’m pretty sure our tip and his giant smile makes up for it. He is our joy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Op, haven’t read the whole thread, but wanted to chime in. My 6 year old is an extremely picky eater, but will eat pepperoni pizza like nobody’s business. When the rest of the family wants to go out to eat to a non pizza serving place, we bring a small pepperoni pizza for him to eat. We do this almost weekly and have not had any comments from any establishment. We are a 4 person family, but usually order a lot of food and drinks. We make up for the 6 year old not eating. Now admittedly, we aren’t doing this at Komi or Pineapple & Pearls and we tip well.

I just can't fathom doing this with a 6 year old who, it seems, doesn't have any particular SN and is just a picky eater.

When do you plan on pulling the cord on this? There has to be some point where you won't feel ok bringing a slice of pizza for your kid, and how is your kid ever going to learn to broaden his horizons?

A lot of the work to expand his palate should be done at home -- and I hope you are doing what you can for your sake and your kid's -- but you also need to get him accustomed to trying things in restaurants. But he isn't going to do that if he knows he can just have pizza.

To be honest, this isn’t a hill we want to die on. We would like to expand his palate but he just isn’t there yet. When he is ready to “broaden his horizons” we have no doubt he will. When he discovered pizza, it was like Christmas Day! He eats the same thing for lunch four days a week at school and gets pizza one day a week. We try new things at dinner, and he will just not eat. He doesn’t whine or pout about it. He respectfully says “I don’t want to try that” or will try it and say he doesn’t like it. We tried “he’ll eat when he’s hungry” and not offer his favorites, he went 58 hours without eating and only drank water.

A year ago he was ONLY eating Chana Masala, rice and Cheerios (that lasted from about 18 months to 5 years old). Pepperoni on pizza and ground beef (in spaghetti only) is the only meat he will eat, and he just started eating spaghetti this past summer. Kid is on the spectrum, but out of all the issues we’ve taken a loss on, eating pizza is a win. He plays a mean piano, knows his multiplication tables and reading on a 2nd grade level. We will pull the cord when it seems appropriate for him. We parent based on what works for our family. As far as being rude, we are discreet when bringing in food, but I’m pretty sure our tip and his giant smile makes up for it. He is our joy.

A healthy diet of something other than pizza should be the one hill to die on. I'm not judging you especially since he has SN, but this problem will only become worse as he gets older. Only pick restaurants that serve pizza for now. Think outside of the box. Make it his mission to try pepperoni pizza at every place you can find, sort of like a world tour. Call it the DS's YourState Pizza Tour. Make a ticket with all of the restaurants you've found listed on both sides. Give him a hole punch to mark the ticket at every restaurant after he tries the pizza. On the back, list each restaurant and let him make a note critiquing the pizza at each place visited.

If he's a child that is into lists, make a second card where he can list and circle number scores for new foods that he has tried at home or while eating out. Categories could be: presentation, color, texture, flavor, temperature, messiness.

Also, get him a child's cookbook and let him prepare a meal he'd like to try. He might want to taste it if he made it. I let my children do a lot in the kitchen at his age.

Sometimes taking their mind off of the task of eating the actual food and focusing it on another task at the same time can help.

[Anonymous]

PP here. I wanted to add a few children's cookbooks that we have liked.

Children's Quick & Easy Cookbook has simple foods.

Cooking Class has tasty recipes and simple instructions with pictures. There's even a whole section for a pizza party.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:To everyone who is saying the restaurant wants to make $, you realize at this age, 1) restaurants don't make $ off a kids meal, they make it off you ordering booze 2) some kids this age still just eat off the parents meal and don't order separately anyways, 3) the kid could probably still have a desert if you felt you needed to order something still, 4) most restaurants understand kids are finicky or have eating issues, particularly in today's day and age of severe allergies which tend to be worse in the early childhood years, 5) if the restaurant must have a family with kids they'd rather the kids are quiet and we'll behaved than having a meltdown. And don't tell me your perfect angel 5+year old wouldn't have a hangry meltdown even if it didn't kill them to starve for a meal, while you teach them a lesson, I call BS. As a patron of restaurants, I'd much rather a family did what they need to do to keep a 5-year old quiet so I can enjoy my meal in peace.

Aso, context, the OP didn't bring a kid with a five course Happy Meal to Alinea, it was a BBQ ordering counter outdoors or something. Who cares? Not me! Put down the dang pitchforks!

None of this is normal.

If your 5 year old is having meltdowns at restaurants, you should stop taking them. Really? A meltdown? 5 is way too old for this. You should take your kid to see a developmental pediatrician because this is not age appropriate behavior. There is something else going on with your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To everyone who is saying the restaurant wants to make $, you realize at this age, 1) restaurants don't make $ off a kids meal, they make it off you ordering booze 2) some kids this age still just eat off the parents meal and don't order separately anyways, 3) the kid could probably still have a desert if you felt you needed to order something still, 4) most restaurants understand kids are finicky or have eating issues, particularly in today's day and age of severe allergies which tend to be worse in the early childhood years, 5) if the restaurant must have a family with kids they'd rather the kids are quiet and we'll behaved than having a meltdown. And don't tell me your perfect angel 5+year old wouldn't have a hangry meltdown even if it didn't kill them to starve for a meal, while you teach them a lesson, I call BS. As a patron of restaurants, I'd much rather a family did what they need to do to keep a 5-year old quiet so I can enjoy my meal in peace.

Aso, context, the OP didn't bring a kid with a five course Happy Meal to Alinea, it was a BBQ ordering counter outdoors or something. Who cares? Not me! Put down the dang pitchforks!

None of this is normal.

If your 5 year old is having meltdowns at restaurants, you should stop taking them. Really? A meltdown? 5 is way too old for this. You should take your kid to see a developmental pediatrician because this is not age appropriate behavior. There is something else going on with your kid.

My children never had a meltdown at that age. Sure, under certain circumstances, they became cranky, but a full on meltdown? No way. I can give a pass to a child who just overcame an illness, hasn't slept well in a week and due to family circumstances, had to make a long, unexpected car trip. But regularly having a meltdown over food is not normal for this age.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi Op, haven’t read the whole thread, but wanted to chime in. My 6 year old is an extremely picky eater, but will eat pepperoni pizza like nobody’s business. When the rest of the family wants to go out to eat to a non pizza serving place, we bring a small pepperoni pizza for him to eat. We do this almost weekly and have not had any comments from any establishment. We are a 4 person family, but usually order a lot of food and drinks. We make up for the 6 year old not eating. Now admittedly, we aren’t doing this at Komi or Pineapple & Pearls and we tip well.

I just can't fathom doing this with a 6 year old who, it seems, doesn't have any particular SN and is just a picky eater.

When do you plan on pulling the cord on this? There has to be some point where you won't feel ok bringing a slice of pizza for your kid, and how is your kid ever going to learn to broaden his horizons?

A lot of the work to expand his palate should be done at home -- and I hope you are doing what you can for your sake and your kid's -- but you also need to get him accustomed to trying things in restaurants. But he isn't going to do that if he knows he can just have pizza.

+1, I have a picky child. Kid at at home or would find something, even minimal like rice. Now he's willing to eat more and expand things but it takes time. You don't bring food into a restaurant. Either they eat there, eat before or eat after.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To everyone who is saying the restaurant wants to make $, you realize at this age, 1) restaurants don't make $ off a kids meal, they make it off you ordering booze 2) some kids this age still just eat off the parents meal and don't order separately anyways, 3) the kid could probably still have a desert if you felt you needed to order something still, 4) most restaurants understand kids are finicky or have eating issues, particularly in today's day and age of severe allergies which tend to be worse in the early childhood years, 5) if the restaurant must have a family with kids they'd rather the kids are quiet and we'll behaved than having a meltdown. And don't tell me your perfect angel 5+year old wouldn't have a hangry meltdown even if it didn't kill them to starve for a meal, while you teach them a lesson, I call BS. As a patron of restaurants, I'd much rather a family did what they need to do to keep a 5-year old quiet so I can enjoy my meal in peace.

Aso, context, the OP didn't bring a kid with a five course Happy Meal to Alinea, it was a BBQ ordering counter outdoors or something. Who cares? Not me! Put down the dang pitchforks!

None of this is normal.

If your 5 year old is having meltdowns at restaurants, you should stop taking them. Really? A meltdown? 5 is way too old for this. You should take your kid to see a developmental pediatrician because this is not age appropriate behavior. There is something else going on with your kid.

This, kids can get upset but don't have a full meltdown at 5. You stay home if your child cannot behave. Simple. You are setting this situation up. Child knows if they don't get their way, they tantrum. Our solution is feed before or stay home. You can get carry out.

[Anonymous]

Like I said before, we bring food for our Celiac child on the rare occasions we go out and no one gives a f$&&! The judgement on this thread is ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why would a restaurant allow outside food if they are
in the business of serving food for a profit?

This coming from someone with severe food sensitivities.
I don't go to restaurants if I can't eat anything there.
I go to restaurants at places I can order something from
the menu.

Because the rest of the people are buying food and they aren't making tons of money from a 5 year old's meal anyway? To build loyalty? Completely different situation, but I just attended a birthday dinner for my aunt. It was a chain steakhouse, can't think of the name of it, but along the lines of Longhorns. One of my uncles brought in a cake he bought from somewhere else. He asked if it was ok for us to eat it after the meal. The waitress said yes, took the cake into the back, cut it and put it on plates for everyone. It was great service (as well as her prior service through the whole meal) and she got a compliment to the manager and a nice tip from us.

Can’t have built much loyalty if you can’t even remember the name of the restaurant!