Adventure #5: the dreaded Restaurant

Dining out with Noah is like taking a monkey to a restaurant.  He won't sit, he's trying to either run through the restaurant or climb on the table, he throws food, he decides squawking is really funny.  We haven't taken him to a restaurant in about a year.

Dining out isn't about eating a meal usually, its about having a fun, relaxing experience.  With Noah, its about one of us bolting down our food while the other walks around the block with him.  Totally not worth the $40-50 a typical restaurant bill runs!

Our goals for Noah (not just my little blog!) is to help him learn to be out in the wider world.  Sometimes you have to dine out.  For example, if we are traveling there is no choice but to eat out.  He will also be eating in a school cafeteria at some point and doesn't need to be scrambling up on the table.  Well, we decided to brave dining out with him again!

We did our best with the factors we could control:  went to a quick service restaurant and ate at a non-busy time.  Rachel's Classic Burgers   http://bit.ly/oskkbD  is a new burger place by our house that styles their burgers after In N' Out, every California transplants dream burger.

After placing our order, things were not looking good.  I tried placing Noah in the high chair, but he is 5 years old and super tall, so he just wanted out.  I tried distracting him with games of peek-a-boo and a granola bar, but he kept signing he wanted out.  Not a good start.  We get him out and try the chair.  He scrambles out and runs through the restaurant.  I have no idea where he was planning on going, I don't think he had thought it that far through.

We were back to our old Geoff walking him around and me wolfing down my burger so I can switch places with him.  After inhaling my burger I look out the window to tell Geoff I can switch spots with him.  But I see that Geoff is experiencing a moment of brilliance:  he is putting Noah in his push chair.

They stroll back into the restaurant and Noah is calmly sitting in his chair.  No frantic struggling to get down, no disruptively loud chirps, just sitting.  He even eats a little from his special seat.  The rest of our meal is peaceful and Noah sits in the comfort of his chair.

I wouldn't call this a home run, but we were able to problem solve to save the situation.  It is going to take many more outings to hopefully get him to understand the routine.  I left the restaurant thinking we could go back again as a family.