Do you use kids menu in restaurants?

[Anonymous]

When I look at kids menu in restaurants I find it lack nutrition, imagination and variety. Our family always order from the reagular entries for our kids that they split. What do you think? Why is it ok to feed the kids such substandard food when adults prefer nice elaborate entries?

[Anonymous]

Totally agree! We do the same

[Anonymous]

We use both. If we go someplace with a kids' menu and my kids want something off the kids' menus, they get it, if they want something off the adult menu, they get it. One problem with kids menus is that sometimes it's not enough food for my kids, particularly if it's a burger. So, we end up spending more money if we aren't careful. But, most places we go don't have kids menus.

[Anonymous]

i hate them but my son LOVES the kids menu. hard to tell him he can't order from it. find it's hard to split stuff with him because he doesn't like things all mixed up and highly flavored like i do! he's an only so can't split with another kid. do sometimes order him an appetizer or ask the restaurant if they can just give him a plate of pasta or something....

[Anonymous]

I find most restaurants will happily substitute things on the kids' menu. Broccoli or sweet potato fries for regular fries, for example. And I can get steamed or grilled shrimp for my son instead of popcorn (fried) shrimp pretty easily as well.

We usually do a mix. And my son eats a lot of my food anyway, which is great because adult portions are too big for just one person.

[Anonymous]

Our kids would LOVE the kids menu stuff too. But early on, we have shown enough excitement in the main entries that they have developed very discerning taste. Now, they ususally look at the regular entries even when the waiters give them kids menu. They use the kids menu to draw/ do quiet activities while waiting for food.

We try to order something that can be split. A pasta dish, a curry, biryani, a salad, baked fish, make your own fajita, burrito bowl, noodles, soups etc. are easy to split. Sometimes I ask the waiters to split a certain way before they get it to the table.

[Anonymous]

Depends on the restaurant.

Do you always start threads just to go on and on about how superior you think your parenting choices are?

[Anonymous]

Why are so many people saying "entries" instead of "entrees"? It is "entrees".

Carry on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the restaurant.

Do you always start threads just to go on and on about how superior you think your parenting choices are?

That was my impression as well. My kids used to love the kids menu! Let's see....baked chicken over rice with broccoli. Or mozzarella sticks with dipping sauce. My kids would have chosen the mozzarella sticks every time. I cook healthy meals at home at least six nights a week. I'm not too worried about what they eat once a week when we go out.

[Anonymous]

Depends entirely upon the restaurant. Lebanese Taverna has a great kids menu--a smaller version of the mezze platter. At most restaurants, we just ask for an extra plate and share with DC (the portions are too big for one, anyway), or we order a few appetizers and side dishes.

[Anonymous]

I'm an adult and I occasionally order off the kid's menu for myself when I don't want to pay a higher price for a huge portion I won't eat-is this wrong?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you always start threads just to go on and on about how superior you think your parenting choices are?

Are you referring to me the OP? This is my first thread here and I did not uderstand why you thought I wanted to start a thread to show I am superior. I do not know you. So, how did you assume to know me?

I have been thinking about kids menu for a while and wanted to hear about other parents opinion about what they think. I thought the purpose of this forum to put out discussion points for "Food, Cooking, and Restaurants". That is what I was doing. Sorry if I made anyone feel inferior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you always start threads just to go on and on about how superior you think your parenting choices are?

Are you referring to me, the OP? This is my first thread here and I did not uderstand why you thought I wanted to start a thread to show I am superior. I do not know you. So, how did you assume to know me?

I have been thinking about kids menu for a while and wanted to hear about other parents opinion about what they think. I thought the purpose of this forum to put out discussion points for "Food, Cooking, and Restaurants". That is what I was doing. Sorry if I made anyone feel inferior.

[Anonymous]

Posted twice by mistake.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Depends on the restaurant.

Do you always start threads just to go on and on about how superior you think your parenting choices are?

I don't know, I agree with OP: for example, I can't for the life of me figure out why parents let their children watch juvenile drivel like "Dora the Explorer", or the like. My 4 yo and 6 yo watch only the online video lecture courses from MIT: http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/audio-video-courses/

The fare is so much more enriching.