To ask if any of you avoid taking your DCs to restaurants?

[YouDoTheMath]

I'm thinking of avoiding them until my toddler is older. She's really well behaved normally but the thought of taking her for a meal stresses me out. She doesn't seem to enjoy the experience and just kicks off.

I'm not one of those people who doesn't care what others think - it bothers me if I feel I'm spoiling things for others, so I end up either rushing through the meal or taking her home before it's even started.

Does it make sense to avoid such situations in future, or should I get her used to it?

I stopped taking mine when he was about 18 months because he was such an utter pita. Now he's 4, he's fine and has been since he was about 3.5. It's tosh to say that if you avoid it at the stressy age that they will 'forget' how to behave. It was just horribly stressful and not a lot of fun so there was no point.

Have now read the whole thread and realise I said pretty much what Mordechai said