The Best (and Worst) Of Dining Out With A Baby

Taking a young child out to eat is never an easy feat. Aside from the usual dining-out quandaries — entre or straight to main course? Dessert or just post-meal espresso? — there’s a laundry list of other potential issues that a child literally brings to the table: screaming, fear of wine glasses crashing to the bistro’s tile floor, fear of silverware doing the same, the possibility of mash flung against the wall, and on and on.

But apparently, Anne V. Nelson of The Boston Globe has mastered the art of enjoying great restaurants with a baby. Although she acknowledges that she and her husband have had to hastily end at least one dinner in order to avoid a mealtime meltdown, she describes some really excellent dining out experiences they’ve managed to have with a not-even-one-year-old.

It all sounds so blissful: being able to enjoy a glass of zippy Zinfandel or some butter-poached lobster, even with a tiny diner in tow. Honestly, it’s something that, prior to having my own child, I never thought I’d experience as a parent, mainly because I had heard so many young-kid-in-restaurant horror stories. Exhibit A: my brother once shared that he took his three-year-old son for pizza. “How did it go?” I asked. “Fine,” he responded, “until he barfed all over the table.”

That said, you tell me: what’s the worst dining-out-with-kids story you’ve got, based on either your own experience or the experience of someone you know? And while you’re at it, what are your tips for making a meal out with kids go as smoothly as possible?

Image: canadianparents.com