Why are Kid's Menu's in restaurants always the same?

[stef1301]

Hello mums, I am on a mission!! I've started a petition to get restaurants & cafes to have healthier options available on kids menu's. Kids menus haven't changed since I was a child, a good 20 years ago. I think they need to put a little more effort into creating healthy balanced meals, even if it's secretly blitzing veggies into a pasta sauce. I spent many months breastfeeding and BLW, trying to give Fred the best possible start and then get offered chicken nuggets, chips and beans in restaurants. Am I the only one who gets annoyed by this?

www.change.org/p/restaurants-nutritional-meal-choices-for-children-in-restaurants-and-cafes?recruiter=931359741&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink&utm_campaign=share_petition&utm_term=share_petition

that's hardly restaurant fare, though, is it? That's a cafe.

the amount of crap

how many meals a week do you eat out?

I realise this is a controversial view but I truly believe that there aren't fussy kids..... just parents who can't be arsed to experiment or who perhaps aren't particularly adventurous eaters themselves

Uh opinions like this annoy the hell out of me. My daughter used to eat ANYTHING. And I mean, absolutely anything. All of a sudden she stopped. Nothing we did. We carried on offering her as many different foods as we could but she would not budge. She’s nearly 4 now and we’re slooowly getting her to begin trying different foods again but it’s been a long (and bloody frustrating) battle.

Thunderpunt you should meet DD. When we tried weaning, she violently objected to food being near her mouth, and vomited if any got in. That was just the start. She's been offered a wide range of food (though I hadn't tried chocolate and ice cream until they were suggested by dietitians), but eats a very narrow range of it. She'll happily help me prepare food that she will then absolutely refuse to eat. She will starve rather than eat food she doesn't like (we've tested this). She doesn't mainly eat pizza and nuggets, but we don't tend to go to restaurants which could cope with requests like 'steak cut very thinly, medium fried in butter, but please don't use any form of seasoning' - other food requests only get more unconventional. So, if a cafe sells nuggets, and as long as we can persuade the cook not to let beans anywhere near them, we're happy.

I realise this is a controversial view but I truly believe that there aren't fussy kids..... just parents who can't be arsed to experiment or who perhaps aren't particularly adventurous eaters themselves

I really hate attitudes like this. My ds has autism and won't eat anything that will make his hands dirty if he touches it, not really anything to do with having unadventurous parents. He can also go days without eating if he feels like it and has never eaten 3 meals a day, so when he hasn't eaten in two days I am going to give him whatever I possibly can to make him eat anything I don't really care what it is.

I don’t mind the kids menu as such, but restaurants should also offer the choice of a half size adult portion for kids, like DS2, who don’t like chicken nuggets etc. He is awaiting an autism diagnosis so we are limited to restaurants with a play area with him, and typically they are the most inflexible (certainly in our area anyway) when it comes to asking for a half size portion of an adult main. He’d be much happier with a curry than nuggets! I end up having to share one with him which limits my options somewhat too, or he gets a massive adult portion he has no hope of finishing.

Most places do the hidden veggies now in sauce, like a spaghetti and meatballs type dish,
Cod and chips and peas etc.
I think even whetherspoons sp? Does a good healthy menu for kids, I can't see many restaurants changing things and that's including nuggets as an option.

@YouCanCallMeJodieWho no sorry I've never heard of autism (that was me being sarcastic btw as you were to me) However I'm very familiar with sensory issues as my DS is deaf and has other complex sensory issues, just not with food.
However I should have been more specific with my 'controversial' view. I was talking about NT kids with no 'real' dietary issues/SEN.

This is slightly different to fussiness but shows the kind of things restaurants are up against:

Let me tell you about a family who came in recently with a daughter who under 'no circumstances' could eat dairy. When it came to desserts I had to go through every ingredient for every dessert we had so we could accommodate her 'allergy' (as stated by mother) Eventually we were able to confirm she could eat the lemon sorbet safely - great. When I took the bill over with our normal complimentary mint chocolates, the same child devoured all of them...and not a question was asked of the ingredients.

For the rest who have non SEN children who are fussy I stand by my opinion - it invariably stems from parents who are also not very food adventurous or habitual cooks who don't experiment with their kids foods while they are young. There are so many amazing tastes, smells and textures out there that just aren't explored with children.

If you keep going to the same places they will keep putting the same crap on the table to offer. It's supply and demand.

It's not the same everywhere at all. Lots of places have really healthy options.

Our local has fennel soup and aubergine lasagne. The kids love it.

I realise this is a controversial view but I truly believe that there aren't fussy kids..... just parents who can't be arsed to experiment or who perhaps aren't particularly adventurous eaters themselves

How wrong can someone be.

DH and i are both adventurous in our food choices and i like to experiment when cooking. DD1 was always an excellent eater who would try anything. DD2, being an individual in her own right, was monumentally fussy. I decided that we wouldn't fight over food and slowly she came round. She is now a grown woman who pretty much eats anything. Kids menus were great when we wanted to eat out together as a family.

There are many parents out there who have both fussy eaters and children who are average eaters or who eat almost anything. My friend has three children. She's an adventurous eater herself. She has one who is just like her in regards to eating habits, the youngest is about average eating most foods and her middle child is extremely fussy. She weaned all three children on a varied diet and made meals herself, she didn't use jars but she still has one very fussy eater. It's nonsensical, shortsighted and insulting to claim that it's always down to the parents failing to provide their children with a varied diet.

Thunder and I stand by my point which is that a rare meal out is not necessarily the place to experiment.

And Thunderpunt, my son who’s awaiting autism diagnosis had sensory processing disorder, loves spicy food (sensory seeking), but will not consciously eat veg, mash, or anything else bland. My other son prefers bland food. I am a very adventurous eater, will have a go at anything really but wasn’t always like this. As a child I had a restricted diet and wouldn’t eat much variety. My parents weren’t adventurous with food at all. Fussy children don’t always make for fussy adults, and many kids have a range of issues that affect what they are able to eat. Don’t be so judgemental.

Do adults eat healthily when they go out?

No, but we expect kids to sit down to a starter of raw veg?

Every restaurant I've been to has some kind of pasta dish on the menu. Nothing wrong with a portion of fish and potatoes either.

Many do "smaller plates" and if you are that bothered, order your kids a couple of starters and/sides.

The menu is there because that's what the majority of kids want to eat. But nobody forced you to feed them from the kids menu.

I can't remember the last time I went somewhere with nuggets on the children's menu, but I tend to avoid chain restaurants like harvester erg.
Try independent restaurants, Thai and Turkish places etc.
Vote with your feet.

My daughter used to eat ANYTHING. And I mean, absolutely anything. All of a sudden she stopped. Nothing we did. We carried on offering her as many different foods as we could but she would not budge

Were you smug to have a "great little eater?" Proud when they were out an about. Loved to tell people about it?

I was. Then the same happened to us at about aged 3. She's 9 now and back to being pretty decent about trying new stuff. Even eats peas and carrots now 😂

Sadly, going out with my kids I really only go if there's nuggets, chips and beans on the kids menu because it's all my autistic 7 year old will eat. It's a relief when it's an option at an independent place as the adults get a bit of variety.

Yabbers very good point. Eating out is a treat for me, I couldn't give a stuff if I'm eating healthily or not, I eat perfectly healthily the rest of the time, thanks. So ditto for DD.

I think those moaning about this must eat out a lot. For this to even start to be a issue it's got to be at least half your meals, hasn't it?

Oh yes Yabbers - I often see posters on here very smug about how their 18 month old “eats everything” and it’s because of the wide amount of food they’ve been introduced to, and I feel like “come back when they’re 3 and only eat beige things!”

I think most places offer much better menus for kids than they used to tbh.........even chain places. I took my niece to a hungry horse recently and was pleasantly surprised.

Glad my point was enough to make you start to listen Thunderpunt.

Im sure you find many frustrations when people fail to understand your DC's sensory issues. Maybe that's why my short post amongst the five or six pointing out you were spouting bollocks raised your ire so much you went for the aggressive @ tagging?

Firstly, non NT/SEN kids are kids. They are part of the group you are talking about. Sure

But if you are in a restaurant you have absolutely no idea which kids we NT and which are not.

I don't think I've been to a restaurant since having the kids that hasn't just let them have a smaller plate from the menu. Most pubs have a kids menu but they're pretty good too generally. I have one dc that will eat anything and one fussy eater, I'm an enthusiastic cook and prepare so much lovely food that gets rejected so it's not down to laziness. I'm not really that bothered tbh, we eat out perhaps twice a week but some of those times will be in a cafe where there's always sandwiches/jackets etc and some will be in places where they can share a pizza/pasta or whatever. If we do go somewhere with nuggets/fishfingers/sausage I can't get too worked up about it because it's only a small bit of their diet.

Well seeing as how that's all my kids will eat I don't know why I'd bother eat out if they can't eat something stress free which I know they'll eat (not wasting time, effort, money and having a bad experience)

At home they are encouraged to try new things and broaden their palette, but when we are out? I want happy, fed kiddies not grumpy, hungry ones.

So yeah kids like mine are the issue. Please tell me how to convince them that quinoa salad is as yummy as chips

@TheFifthKey

How do you know my PFB so well?

It all started beautifully with BLW and now I've got two beige eating buggers

Don't know where it all went so wrong
Maybe it was my karma for becoming a borderline sanctimummy

It's where you are eating. If you go to a decent restaurant serving decent food the children's menu will also reflect that. You'll find the habitual sausages and chips but hey, I like chips when I go out as well, it's a treat. But small portions of dishes on the main menu will also be available.

No petitions necessary just be more discerning about where you go.

@Yabbers yes!! Totally took it for granted at the time haha.

For the rest who have non SEN children who are fussy I stand by my opinion - it invariably stems from parents who are also not very food adventurous or habitual cooks who don't experiment with their kids foods while they are young. There are so many amazing tastes, smells and textures out there that just aren't explored with children

Please no one with fussy children listen to this absolute bs. Parenting is tough enough as it is without people pointing the finger and saying “well it’s all your fault”. Awful opinion.