I have a love-hate relationship with children's menus at restaurants. On the one hand, my kids eat small amounts and could never manage even half of the giant portions of an adult entree, and the smaller portions offered on the kids' menu mean less waste of both food and money. On the other hand, there is no earthly reason why a bean burrito should come with French fries, especially since French fries aren't even on the adult menu.
I'm not the only one who's noticed. This article notes some of the offerings on major chain restaurant children's menus, and it is kind of depressing. Chicken fingers, chicken nuggets, hot dogs, fried this and fried that. I've been lucky enough to find some restaurants with better options—the California-based Pasta Pomodoro has simple, but tasty pasta and meat options that complement the grownup fare nicely, and despite the totally confusing fries-with-everything policy, Chevy's kids' fare is a big hit with my girls. There's always the option to simply order side dishes and bread anywhere you go. A perfectly fine meal can be made of rice and vegetables with part of Mama's over-sized steak or Daddy's giant American-sized fish fillet. But I admit, I tend to save the side-order meals for places that really don't have a separate children's menu and otherwise just try to guide my children toward the best options on their little cartoon coloring sheet.
At home, I cook what I want to cook, and the kids are expected to eat at least a small serving of everything. But at restaurants we each order what we please, and while I would love them to voluntarily ask for a plate of steamed vegetables, I also want them to feel the enjoyment of getting to order whatever sounds delicious to them. We model good habits both at home and when we dine out, but feel that part of the dining-out experience is the freedom to choose.
How do you navigate this particular pitfall of dining out with kids?
image credit: Artellaland.com
