What age did you start ordering off the kids menu?

[Anonymous]

I'm curious to know at what age did most of you start ordering food off the kids menu and not brining food with you? My dd is 1 and sometimes I think I could get by with ordering something but most times I just bring food myself. Just curious.

[Anonymous]

We still do it pretty rarely and ds is 3. He eats off our plates a lot of times. He doesn't consistently eat the stuff in the kids meals -- just not his thing. Sometimes the pasta will work. I usually have some snacks in my bag, so he can eat some of those if nothing else is working. It also depends on if the kids meals includes milk or something healthy, like fruit, then I'm more likely to order it.

[Anonymous]

It depends on the child and the place, but around 3.

It helps if you have siblings....then you can get away with ordering one meal for them to split.

If you want to try it, then go for it. The worst that could happen is that the food for that meal is wasted (unless you or DH eat it) and you don't try again for a little while.

[Anonymous]

about 1 - but i have twins so they split it. Only now at 3 do they each get their own meals.

[Anonymous]

dc is 5 and we are just starting to do the kids menu mostly because dc eats like a bird and it's often a waste to order a kid's portion.

[Anonymous]

Seems we started comparatively early based on the previous replies. We started probably around 14 or 15 months, just because at that time DS was eating a ton for some reason. We went to breakfast one morning and didn't order him a kid's meal, and I remember telling DH that he needed to share too or DS was going to eat my entire breakfast! As the PPs mentioned, some times DS, now 2, eats the meals and some times he just picks. If he doesn't eat it, we just take it home and have it for lunch the next day.

[Anonymous]

We started doing it within the last few months for DS to ensure we got something we would definitely eat (i.e. very picky eater).... so between 2 and 2.5.

[Anonymous]

I didn't really take him out to eat unless it was some extended family thing. But I'd say about 18 months. I still (at 3) always have a back-up applesauce or mandarin oranges or something in my purse to round out the meal for him if necessary.

[Anonymous]

We'd usually order him something around 18 months. A lot of times it was from the a la carte section rather than the kids' menu -- a scrambled egg or beans and rice. And I would also put together a plate of side dishes for him -- mac & cheese, bean salad, maybe mashed potatoes instead. Then DH would give him some meat or I'd give him some fish. We've also been known to order a meatball for him and put it on my side of spaghetti (our favorite waiter actually suggested this instead of ordering his own portion).

He still doesn't really like a lot of the kids' menu options, although i will say that this is reminding me that we haven't been out to eat in AGES.

[Anonymous]

Around 3 yrs old or so. My DS hardly eats anything so if he doesn't eat much of it, I take it home and he has leftovers for lunch the next day. I also wanted to start ordering my own food again and I couldn't do that b/c I always had to order an entree that my son would eat. So it was as much for me as it was for him to start ordering kids' meals.

[Anonymous]

Around 14-15 months too. DS was eating too much for all of us to have a decent meal!

[Anonymous]

Around 1. He's now 2 and he never eats the entire meal. Although we always share everything, it is still easier for everyone to have their own plate.

[Anonymous]

Around 3 for my son.
Sometimes I still share my food with him which is what I did before because like other PP, he wouldn't finish a whole kids meal anyway. I also used to resist ordering from the kids menu - mac n cheese, chicken strips - either stuff I could make easily for a fraction of the price or junky and greasy - but I've given up - eating out is supposed to be fun and relaxing and I've decided this is one battle I don't need to win.

[Anonymous]

DD is 20 months, and we occasionally order a kids menu, but more often order her something a la carte and share off our plates. I'm most likely to order her her own food at breakfast - other meals can be hit or miss, but she can (and generally does) put away her own egg and pancake or toast.

[Anonymous]

Started ordering DS his own appetizer or small plate at around 11 months or I would order more than I normally would and we would share. He is a big eater and eats just about everything. But we never order off a kids menu, the options on the real menu are usually healthier and tastier.