Ideas to keep 18mo entertained in high chair when in a restaurant?

[Jenny343]

DS is 18mo and I’d love some ideas to keep him happy in the high chair when we are out for lunch or dinner.

Currently we get about 15-20 mins in there. He loves books so we will have lots of those, and we might get a few mins out of crayons and a colouring sheet (he isn’t able to ‘use’ them properly yet though).

After that he just wants to get out so that he can toddle around holding our hand.

Does anyone have a good idea of toys or anything really that will grab his attention for a bit longer? Thank you!

Pop it toy. Get a rainbow coloured one then you can say “can you pop all the yellow ones?”

^ This with bells on.

Mine is just coming up to 18 months and he takes longer to eat than us.
I would just take a few snacks to eat in case he’s finished and I know it’s not recommended but you tube on your phone for a short time while you eat isn’t going to hurt him.

My daughter was super content with a few wee toys and looking around. We’d always order something for her immediately so she’d mess with chips or whatever and play with a few things and look around and throw our forks on the floor for ages.

Then my son came along and it was a totally different experience. He’s 9 now and it’s still a challenge sometimes! So kids definitely are super variable. With my son we mostly just tried to avoid eating out. Or we’d split the meal - one of us would go in and order and hang out with our daughter and then we’d swap round.

We’ve got a two-year-old and we go out to eat regularly. We do sit at the table for dinner most nights which I think helps.

At 18 months my daughter was obsessed with the reusable sticker books like these: www.amazon.co.uk/Reusable-Stickers-Transport-Dinosaurs-Educational/dp/B0DGSQGFZY/ref=asc_df_B0DGSQGFZY?mcid=003ac9db3da0388fba2a2c9be5d684ee&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=723697892304&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=15523426838419142065&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9073588&hvtargid=pla-2399197455492&psc=1&hvocijid=15523426838419142065-B0DGSQGFZY-&hvexpln=0&gad_source=1

I think it really depends on your kids' temperament.

I'd be wary of comparing to other families - our eldest loved restaurants, was happy people watching and chatting away, or doing stickers and looking at books, and then our middle one was an absolute nightmare - he just hated sitting still and our third ws somewhere in between.

They're now 14, 12 and 7 and eating out as a family is a genuine pleasure, so, don't worry if it's something you need to park for a few years. You'll get to enjoy leisurely restaurant meals again one day!

I think yes and no to this, to be honest. Obviously, kids didn't have screens but it was also much less common for kids to be taken to restaurants - certainly when I was growing up in the 80s and 90s, you'd maybe go for a pub meal - usually with a pub garden - but long meals out in a restaurant wasn't the norm for most families, I don't think.

We used to give ours a bread stick to munch on and chose restaurants with very prompt service! Dc would happily munch on the breadstick whilst waiting for the meal and we could chat to them and show them picture books. Once their food came and they were all bobbed up ready they were just engrossed in that. I’m sure someone will think this is terrible advice but it worked for us.

Another vote for stickers, I bought some reusable sticker books from Amazon at around that age to keep my DD entertained on a flight. She's now 2 and still enjoys playing with them!

We were strategic with it.

One person went early and ordered via app. Child brought in 15m later. Food arrives 5-10m later. Child taken for a strategic toddle to the bathroom whilst their food cools and walk around the room a minute holding hands. Strategic toddle to get a toy when they get restless.

Basically you need to cut the waiting time out.

Get in, order. One of us would take the toddler for a walk. Sit down as food arrives, eat quickly. Take toddler for another walk.

At that age mine love a magic water book with a chunky paint brush. It's just water so makes no mess.

Mine used to like sticker books (preferably with sheets of zillions of tiny stickers - they enjoyed all the pictures) and also Magic Painting books are a bit hit (my 5 year old still enjoys these). We would also take out a bag of small toys. I remember that tiny wooden 3D puzzles (we had a pig which was made of 5 or 6 pieces) and those squishy popper toys kept them quiet for a bit. We also just used to take books and read to them.

Our kids get their fair dose of screen time but I've never let them have screens whilst eating.

Mini magnetic tiles set - a favourite with my two year old.
Water colouring book
Travel Aqua doodle book
Reusable sticker books
Writing pad
Little cars or figurines
Small pot of playdough
Fuzzy felt books

Any small, non messy toys are perfect.

But IMO the most important thing is to do it regularly, at home mostly. Sit at the table together with no TV or screens on and all eat and chat together. It's the best way to establish good table manners and habits.

No, it wasn't common. People without children certainly didn't want random kids spoiling their lovely evening, and parents with children left them at home with a babysitter for some precious time together.

We used flash cards to help with her talking and she’d sit for ages doing them with us she was an early talker though . She is also an incredibly slow eater which I find hard at home but means with the cards and colouring we can sit for 2 hours plus in a restaurant quite happily

I'd kind of agree with that, there were family restaurants my parents would take us to when I got a bit older. (Note my comment above baby me wouldn't give them peace in a restaurant)
There were also nicer places they'd go to for time together.

Our two have always been pretty good in restaurants (both still quite young).

In those early days, you need to set your expectations low and that there might be a restaurant visit that doesn’t work out. Order very soon after sitting down, don’t dilly and don’t expect to do starters and a dessert (although, ice cream after is a great bribe as they get older).

Fill a bag with toys like drawings pads, any fiddly bits like LaLaBoom, threadings toys, pull and go cars, wind up toys, just any novel toys that they don’t get to play with at home.

PS if you end up sitting near children where the parents let them get up and run around, then you’re stuffed, because your little one will then want to do that too. Never give them the idea that getting up from the table is an option until you’re not far off leaving.

Edited to add, our restaurant visits are now lunch, rather than dinner. We book for around 12:30. I think I can found on one hand the dinner bookings we’ve done since we’ve had children as they generally don’t go well.

Reusable sticker books and in a few months maybe try the mini magnetic tiles in the travel case - they’ve been amazing for ours! How is he with food as well? Once the food comes and we’ve cut it all up/sorted it on the plates for them and they self feed that buys us a lot more time! Ours are 2 and 4 now and it’s definitely getting easier - persist taking them out every so often and being screen free when you do and you will eventually start to see the benefits I promise! ❤️

Also we tend to book for 4:30/5pm so they won’t be tired and the restaurants/pubs won’t be too busy!

👏 this.

A bad expectation to set anyway, but I think it’s really sad to see mute children who are zoned out watching a tablet with headphones on. Aside from what I mentioned in my previous comment, we talk to our children, involve them.

These are quieter and more forgiving than Lego/ Duplo

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/7578504

Fast service is the key. You can't expect to go out for leisurely meals - save those for when you have a babysitter. When mine were little the best place was Wagamamas as the food always arrived really quickly. Hopefully there are more places now.

I would also add-nothing worse than a child on a screen with headphones on is one where the child is on a screen without headphones.

Not to go overboard with the "don'ts" but loud performative parenting in a restaurant is really annoying.

I agree with everyone saying to engage them.
We used to chat with ours-include them in the conversation etc and don't make screens an option.

Considerate parents like you @Jenny343 are appreciated! You seem like you are doing great.

I always took a supply of small toys at thst age as well as paper, crayons, and books, and always accepted that my daughter had to be my main focus when we were eating out. I recognised that no matter how cute I thought my daughter was, other diners would not see her in that way and the last thing they and the staff would want would be to have to put up with her wandering around the restaurant. I still remember with horror when my brother and sister in law came out to lunch with us with their three year old nephew. They didn’t make him stay in his seat and he spent most of the meal walking round the restaurant, going up to other diners, and ended up lying on his tummy under someone else’s table. My brother thought he was cute, while we thought he was an over indulged spoilt brat, as Im sure most of the other people in the restaurant did.