I know it not a big deal, but it bugs me...

[eepster]

I know it not a big deal, but it bugs me when waiters don't give DS a menu. I know most 3 yo can't read them, but a few can. Besides, don't most 3 yo enjoy looking at them even if they can't read them?

So there you have it, I'm annoyed enough about having to share a menu with DS to post about it online.

[MamaChicken]

I still have to ask that resteraunts give my 11 yo an adult menu. He hasn't eaten kid food in years! Well, really never has liked it.

Just ask them to hand him a menu when you get there.

[no5no5]

UGH, me too. I'm always the last person to figure out what I want to eat, because not only am I slow, and trying to decide for two people, but I also am reading over DD's shoulder and fielding her questions about the various items listed. I guess it'd only eliminate one of those issues if DD had her own menu, but still. Don't all kids want their own menu???

[AndrewsMother]

My 3 year old DS emphatically requests his own menu. I refer to him as my "squeaky wheel".

[ecoteat]

I don't think it's that waiters don't think they can read, I think waiters don't think of little kids as customers. I have to ask for a place setting for dd most of the time. Don't they realize she's going to need a FORK? And of course dd wants to "read" the menu--and I don't want to share mine!

[eepster]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

I have to ask for a place setting for dd most of the time. Don't they realize she's going to need a FORK?

Yikes, at least that never happens to us. I do usually have to ask for extra napkins though, but that's b/c of things he does that adults usually don't.

[greenmamapagan]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

I don't think it's that waiters don't think they can read, I think waiters don't think of little kids as customers. I have to ask for a place setting for dd most of the time. Don't they realize she's going to need a FORK? And of course dd wants to "read" the menu--and I don't want to share mine!

ITA which is all the more ridiculous because usually the reason we are there in the first place is that we forgot to pack enough food for DD or she can't wait til we get home to eat
Yes, I was under the impression that most kids prefer to have their own menu even if they can't read it.
I don't think DD can read much of most menus but she can certainly find the words "hot chocolate"

[HeatherB]

(Moving over to Parenting!)



Yeah, definitely an issue whether they're reading or not! Ah, the fits we've had from the 1yo or 2yo who wanted to look, too.

I totally agree that it makes it SO much easier once they can read - or if it's a picture menu and they can pick out what they want.

[PreggieUBA2C]

There is one very sweet mama who works at a restaurant we sometimes go to, and I love that she asks dh and me if we're having drinks, and when we say yes, she asks each of our children what they would like to drink. She knows they can have pure juice and not pop, but they hate pop so would never ask. She took the time the first time to figure out what is acceptable to us and trusts our dc to order something acceptable and trust us to interject if it isn't (which has never happened).

This is so rare though. We usually have to ask for place settings too and our boys don't eat kids menu stuff, so we always say something about the menus when we arrive anyway. The hardest part is having to inform and explain in excruciating detail that our children each need a seat- that even though they are smaller than adults, they still each have a bottom they have to plunk down somewhere not on their brothers' laps... So, booth for four doesn't work for family of six.

[SpiderMum]

I waited tables for years...and I can pretty much speak for the majority when I say that a family with kids is almost always your worst nightmare. Not because of the kids...but because of the parents. I can't tell you how many times parents tried to get their child to order for themselves...and instead of helping them when they were OBVIOUSLY too scared to do so...they just make me stand there and get more and more behind. Or the parents that make you go find their kids at the games and ask them what they want to eat. Because apparently I'm a mind-reader and know which kid is yours...

I have soooooo many horror stories of terrible parents that I've waited on...a few involving children pooping on the floor even...

If you want an extra menu, feel free to ask. If you're nice and friendly a server will be more than happy to get you one. It's one of the easier requests we would receive!

[PreggieUBA2C]

I waited on tables for years too, a decade ago now, but I didn't have nightmarish encounters with families as a norm at all- rarely actually. Perhaps it depends on the restaurant and its location.

I can imagine it being hard to wait for children to order when they don't want to or aren't ready. I think treating a child like a real person whose presence matters is still very important, and I think that is what bothers parents here- that the initial consideration isn't made.

I don't make my dc order. If they want to, they do, and they are eager, so nobody is slowed down.

Consideration should obviously go both ways though, I agree.

[gcgirl]

Originally Posted by greenmamapagan

ITA which is all the more ridiculous because usually the reason we are there in the first place is that we forgot to pack enough food for DD or she can't wait til we get home to eat

Lol, I can totally relate! That's usually how WE end up in restaurants too.

FWIW, I don't care about waiters not serving children the same as adults. The waiters who DO usually have kids of their own. For the others, it's just not on their radar, kwim? The exception being restaurants that really cater to children, where the staff seem to be trained to treat the children as customers. Otherwise, I have no problem asking for what I/we need. Just doesn't bother me I guess.

[One_Girl]

The kid menu is often on the back of the place mat along with fun coloring activities in the restraunts I bring my dd to. They usually also provide the crayons. If he likes reading then you might consider bringing some picture books with you to help him stay engaged.

[seaheroine]

Originally Posted by AndrewsMother

My 3 year old DS emphatically requests his own menu. I refer to him as my "squeaky wheel".

[ShadowMoon]

I've never had a waiter offer Ds a menu but they do offer him his own water/drink and will ask me if there is anything they can get him. Ds wouldn't know what to do with a menu, so the verbal acknowledgments work for me

[pianojazzgirl]

I don't really mind my kids not being brought a menu - I don't mind asking for extras if needed. The thing that bugs me is when they don't set a place for my kids (happens to us all the time), or when the server automatically brings water for everyone (usually a good thing), but doesn't bring any for my two kids. Weird.

[pixiekisses]

We go to some places that will automatically bring out menues for the kids, ask them what they want to drink and stuff, that is great.
And if we go somewhere they don't, I'll just say right away that we'll need x many menues.
I let the kids order if they want to, then they'll kinda jump on it anyway and loudly state their order right away, and otherwise I'll order for them.
I've never experienced anywhere that did not set a place for the kiddos, that would be so weird. And many places are good about automatically bringing straws in the kids water/juice. (Not to mention not filling the glasses up, and just state that it's a refill waiting. That is for little ones though.)

[GoBecGo]

At our favourite japanese restaurant they used to give DD the kid menu. Then one of them overheard me reading it to her and her saying "but Mama, where is the sushi?" (because it's variations on a "kid friendly" theme of noodles or rice with chicken or beef). After they watched her devour an adult platter of sushi almost without help and after she told one of them the raw sweet shrimp was "lovely and creamy" they often ask her for her order before they ask us! I love eating out with her, and i hate it when she is disregarded by staff too. Though it's increasingly hard since she is very quick to say "may i also have a menu please!?" if they miss her out

[journeymom]

Originally Posted by ecoteat

I don't think it's that waiters don't think they can read, I think waiters don't think of little kids as customers. I have to ask for a place setting for dd most of the time. Don't they realize she's going to need a FORK? And of course dd wants to "read" the menu--and I don't want to share mine!

This explains it! That's why we used to have to ask for another setting so often when the kids were little. It was mystifying. It just occurred to me we haven't had to do that in a while. Ds is 10 y.o.

Originally Posted by gcgirl

Lol, I can totally relate! That's usually how WE end up in restaurants too.

FWIW, I don't care about waiters not serving children the same as adults. The waiters who DO usually have kids of their own. For the others, it's just not on their radar, kwim? The exception being restaurants that really cater to children, where the staff seem to be trained to treat the children as customers. Otherwise, I have no problem asking for what I/we need. Just doesn't bother me I guess.

Exactly! The funniest was the young man who brought my small son a glass of root beer, nearly as big as ds's head. I thanked him and asked him to put it in a small paper to-go cup with a lid and straw. The 5 y.o. child doesn't need a Big Gulp-sized soda that can flood the table and crash on the floor.

[Everrgreen]

I have had the opposite experience at restaurants! I often have waiters bringing my BABY a kids menu and crayons. He's almost one now but this has been going on for months! I feel like saying "All he is going to do is eat those crayons!" And he definitely doesn't need his own meal off the kids menu! And after they take our order they then ask if they can bring anything for him (and I can remember this happening once before he had even started solids!).

None of this bothers me of course, I just think it's funny