Anonymous
12/02/2021 18:33
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
We take our only to all kinds of things. That is the perk of just having one.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 18:23
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the responses! Yes, she has good manners and I'll have her dress up a little bit too. Now I'm looking forward to it!
I love seeing kids (well, maybe not toddlers or babies) at restaurants. They always look so excited. And I love to see them dressed up. Have a wonderful evening!
Anonymous
12/02/2021 15:34
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
My then 7-year-old thought the pasta at Chez Panisse was “too shiny.” But she is always well behaved in public even if she is making me nuts.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 15:29
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
I went to a special occasion brunch a few months back at Imperfecto, where a mom had taken her maybe 5 or 6 year old son to brunch, just the two of them. My only reaction was awe and jealousy at being 5 and getting to eat their Wagyu burger. He was perfectly behaved and nonplussed by his surroundings.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 15:29
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
Anonymous wrote:
Your kids only need tablets to stay quiet at the dinner table because you give them the tablet. We've been taking our kids to restaurants since they were babies and not once have we given them a tablet. Etch-a-sketch or coloring books to pass the time while they wait for their food, absolutely, but never a tablet.
PP here who takes my children to restaurants and gets compliments on their behavior. I laugh at posters looking sternly down their noses at *gasp* tablets. [insert pearl clutching here]
Kids on tablets can color, do etch-a-sketch, play hangman, practice math facts, read a book, etc. Toting around physical crayons or etch-a-sketch is mainly different in how much crap the family totes around. My kids don’t need tablets all the time but I do not look down on kids/families who have and use them quietly in restaurants. The number of times an adult with a phone is more disruptive in a restaurant than a child on a tablet is mot small.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:53
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
Anonymous wrote:I would think the vast majority of kids without SN (and many with them) should be fine to do this by age 10, but possibly much earlier. I guess the issue is side-eye from other patrons even with a "perfectly behaved child," but I'd assume that much less likely after the age of 8 or so.
With the caveat that "perfectly well-behaved" at a place like this does not include a phone or a tablet, even with headphones. Even though adults don't always follow this, and even though, if you have to do it because you must attend something at a fancy place and have a very young and/or SN kid with you, well, you gotta do what you gotta do.
I don't think the OP's 13 yo would "require" a tablet, but I could see parents doing this with a 9 yo, and it's distracting and should be avoided.
Your kids only need tablets to stay quiet at the dinner table because you give them the tablet. We've been taking our kids to restaurants since they were babies and not once have we given them a tablet. Etch-a-sketch or coloring books to pass the time while they wait for their food, absolutely, but never a tablet.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:53
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
Totally fine. Preferable if she isn’t on a device during the meal. Enjoy!
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:51
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Only child here. This is one of the best perks of being an only child! I was always the only kid in a sea of adults at restaurants, movies, plays, concerts, etc. Now as an adult, I always feel a special bond with the random only children I spot at these events.
I love that we can do this with our only child, as well.
I'm not sure why you both think this is an only child thing? We have brought our two tweens/teens to nice restaurants and the theater since they were around 8/10 and they've always been very well behaved and are active participants in our conversations.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:46
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
Hell, I've taken my kids to nice restaurants since they were four years old. Of course it's okay! Anyone is welcome at any restaurant as long as they can behave appropriately.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:45
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
My 8yo twins have been to a number of upscale restaurants. They know how to behave and are adventurous eaters. I don't care if other are annoyed from seeing a child. Now if the child wants an iPad or is loud, that's a different story.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:00
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
??? What a strange question. Any person of any age who is well-behaved is welcome to pay ridiculous prices for their meal.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 14:00
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
Anonymous wrote:I would think the vast majority of kids without SN (and many with them) should be fine to do this by age 10, but possibly much earlier. I guess the issue is side-eye from other patrons even with a "perfectly behaved child," but I'd assume that much less likely after the age of 8 or so.
With the caveat that "perfectly well-behaved" at a place like this does not include a phone or a tablet, even with headphones. Even though adults don't always follow this, and even though, if you have to do it because you must attend something at a fancy place and have a very young and/or SN kid with you, well, you gotta do what you gotta do.
I don't think the OP's 13 yo would "require" a tablet, but I could see parents doing this with a 9 yo, and it's distracting and should be avoided.
How are the silent activities of someone at another table distracting to you?
Anonymous
12/02/2021 13:59
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
If toddlers can go to Ruth's Chris on NYE, you should be able to take your older child out!
Anonymous
12/02/2021 13:51
Subject: Tweens at nicer restaurants
We take our children to nicer restaurants often. The younger two are not yet tweens. We often get compliments randomly on their behavior when we are dining out which is so nice of people to offer. It is not about being an “only” or a tween, it is all about behavior.
To another PP’s point, some may side eye occasionally but generally that’s more a reflection on them than on us. That is just how some people go through life.
To another PP’s point, some may side eye occasionally but generally that’s more a reflection on them than on us. That is just how some people go through life.
Anonymous
12/02/2021 12:02
Subject: Re:Tweens at nicer restaurants
I would think the vast majority of kids without SN (and many with them) should be fine to do this by age 10, but possibly much earlier. I guess the issue is side-eye from other patrons even with a "perfectly behaved child," but I'd assume that much less likely after the age of 8 or so.
With the caveat that "perfectly well-behaved" at a place like this does not include a phone or a tablet, even with headphones. Even though adults don't always follow this, and even though, if you have to do it because you must attend something at a fancy place and have a very young and/or SN kid with you, well, you gotta do what you gotta do.
I don't think the OP's 13 yo would "require" a tablet, but I could see parents doing this with a 9 yo, and it's distracting and should be avoided.
With the caveat that "perfectly well-behaved" at a place like this does not include a phone or a tablet, even with headphones. Even though adults don't always follow this, and even though, if you have to do it because you must attend something at a fancy place and have a very young and/or SN kid with you, well, you gotta do what you gotta do.
I don't think the OP's 13 yo would "require" a tablet, but I could see parents doing this with a 9 yo, and it's distracting and should be avoided.