What to take to restaurant for 2 and 4year old

[Motherofmonsters]

I'm going out for lunch today with my nearly 2 and 4 year old. Its been so long I'm not sure what to take with me to keep them amused. The 4 year old isn't very interested in drawing. Its not a formal place not kid orientated

What do you take?

Thank you

DD is only 1 but for her I take:

Her cupbd EE sex

Woops!

I take:

Her cup
Snacks I know she'll eat
A few things to entertain her like books, activity ball, stickers etc
Wet cloth for cleaning her/the area around her

Some pieces of Duplo
DD used to like those wipe down books to practice letters
Bread sticks

Small jigsaw puzzles in a zip loc bag
Tiny snacks like chocolate chips , rice crispies, raisins.
Couple of toy cars
Mini markers and paper
Stickers
Richard scarrey or where's wally books (because there's so much to look at on each page)
That's the last for my 2.8 year old! We try to go to a cafe or pub lunch every week so he gets some "practice"
If your 4 year old doesn't like drawing, would they like to make cards? We have a little pack with card blanks, adhesive foam shapes, googly eyes etc for long train journeys, that's mess free, small enough to stick in a handbag and entertaining.

I know it’s frowned upon and I’m probably going to get flamed but iPads with headphones really come into their own here. Little ones can have them once they have finished eating and it prevents the grown ups having to rush their meals / run around the restaurant trying to catch them when the novelty of being out to eat wears off.

Short lunch
Just bring paper and crayons or similar for 4 year old despite not especially liking - amazing what they’ll do when nothing else on offer

Baby - snacks and soft toy to bang / throw

Long lunch - as above
Plus iPad

For 2yo I take one of those water colouring books, and a Melissa and Doug reusable sticker pad. Or some toy cars and a pop-up book. Plus little snacks to have while waiting to order.

we'd take an easy card game like Donkey/Old Maid, or some super quiet toys like those Schleich Animals. Stickers always good. Plus we'd be ready with word/guessing games.

Sticker books
New magazine
Mini Lego kit
Water colouring books
Reading / picture book

I always kept a separate little bag of ‘eating out’ activities, so that they were separate to their everyday stuff and felt different / special to them to keep their interest.

Our youngest is six now, so we’ve progressed to transformer toys and card games, but still a couple of the above too.

I work in a pub restaurant, iPads win hands down for keeping the children most occupied and quiet. Yes, it’s lovely to have a family conversation during a meal out, but equally if the grown ups actually want their own conversation too, then the children watching peppa or whatever are content and happy doing so. And never any judgement from us workers.

Do your 2 and 4 year old like formal restaurants?

@Kinsters

DD is only 1 but for her I take:

Her cupbd EE sex

And this, right here, is why I don't want an edit button 😂😂

Just some toys and a couple of books usually.

I bring a suction bowl, toddler fork and sippy cup for my littlest.
Plus a snack, a board book and a couple of little toy cars (to play with on the table).

The 5 year old is happy enough chatting to us.

Amazon Fire tablet for emergencies. If in the unlikely case they start to kick off (children are extremely unpredictable), I have the Cbeebies app at the ready

and kids headphones for the tablet.

I'm not adverse to giving mine a tablet/ phone either, which generally comes out mid- main course when the attention span stays to wander!

I've also started to take a tupperware with me since 2 yo tends to only have a bite or two before declaring themselves done- but will happily polish off the rest of the meal stone cold at home.

I've also learned the hard way that choosing a table with lake/duck pond view etc just means you eat at lightning speed due to incessant requests to feed the ducks!

I’ve only ever taken colouring / writing, my daughter is 5 but has been eating out at least a few times a month since birth and manages quite happily to sit at a table for an hour or so. Problems happen when you never take them and they don’t know how to behave.

Valium

I pad, phone, laptop Valium and a thick skin

And please know it's generally not endearing to have other people's kids walking under your table in a non lkd friendly environment. I had a kid come and talk loudly to me about how clever they were and could play the piano and speak French in a really expensive place a few years ago. I moved tables in the end. Also read same for potty use and nappy changing

Mine is almost 3 and so full of energy that I gave up on formal restaurants after few traumatic experiences!
However, for pubs/cafeterias/high street chains/quick meals I always have:

• reusable stickers. One of the few things he will focus on at the table, for about 20 minutes?
• snacks. Again, another 10 minutes added.
• one of those 'pop' fiddler toys (hit and miss. If he's tired he can happily play for 10-15 minutes, if not it gets completely ignored).

It's key that the stickers and the fiddler toy only come out of the bag on those special occasions, so they feel like a new thing to play with.
I found out that if I take proper toys with me (little cars etc) he wants to play anywhere but at the table with them.
And of course if by the time we are done with all the above I haven't finished my meal, it will be Paw Patrol on my phone....

This is what babysitters are for

A nanny?!