It was my birthday yesterday so dh and the girls took me out for lunch. I’m always really apprehensive about taking the girls out to restaurants because I have this fear that we’ll just get our food and one or both of them will kick off and we’ll either get kicked out or have to leave. I don’t know why, they have always been pretty good when we’ve been out and about but that’s just my paranoid mummy side coming out.
We’ve perfected a pretty good system now. We let them have a good long nap in the morning and wake them just before their 11am snack. They have their snack we check their nappies and set off for the restaurant (with food, changing bag and booster seats pre-packed). We aim to arrive just before 12 so that the restaurant is quiet before the lunch time rush starts. We order our food and give the girls a savoury and some yogurt before our food arrives. They are allowed titbits from our plates. We take a few toys to keep them entertained if they get restless and are usually done and out within an hour or two. This usually works pretty well.
We followed exactly the same routine yesterday, except that we ordered the girls a couple of things from the children’s menu rather than relying on the food in my bag. Between them they shared (Jamie Oliver look away now) chicken pieces, a cheese and tomato pizza, a few chips and some broccoli. R actually rejected the chips and pizza in favour of the chicken and ate quite a few florets of broccoli. She’s clearly not my child, I can’t stand the stuff!
Right, smug bit coming up. We sat them so that they could watch everyone walking past and they spent their time (when they weren’t eating) chatting away, giggling, waving at people, flirting with the waiters and generally charming the other diners. I even managed to enjoy my own food for a change without fretting that the girls would get restless and bored. WQe even managed to fit in dessert. In short, it was a fun, memorable occasion.
I firmly believe that social eating (a phrase coined by a fellow twin mum, I can’t claim any credit for it) is a very good thing for babies and young children. Dh and I have always enjoyed eating out, so why shouldn’t the girls be a part of it? It makes them feel included and grown-up (something that R seems to like in particular) and I’m convinced that it improves their eating habits. They watch grown-ups eat, which in turn teaches them how to behave during social occasions, all at a relatively young age.
Logistically it’s a bit of a challenge (especially with twins) but I’d recommend it.
