AIBU to think that DCs should be served first?

[DioneTheDiabolist]

When dining with my family, we always serve the children first. It gives us time and space to cut up food, get them sorted with sauces etc. Then, when the adult food arrives everyone is ready to tuck in.

I have been eating out recently with friends and more often than not the adults are served first. Why do restaurants do this? It causes more faff than necessary. Back in the dark ages when I waited tables we were told to serve children first. Happy DCs = happy bill payers.

So AIBU to think DCs should be served first?

My DC always get served after adults so they wouldn't be bothered.
I don't think i'd cafe either way when eating out though.

One place we used to go always served kids first about 10 minutes before adults. It was a nightmare trying to eat ours when they were already finished and were bored. We always asked for it to be served together.

Yes but don't the kids meals need to cool down a bit?

bringing them.out on the first run means that you can quickly cut up the chicken or sausage or lasagne or whatever so they can actually eat with you.

Agree with Fresta, I wouldn't make an exception for DC as at what age would you suddenly stop making the exception. Just teach them good manners from the start.

It depends. How old are the children? If they're tiny and need food cutting up then yes I can see this makes sense. Never really considered it before.

This might be unpopular but to a PP whose children 'kick off' if their food is not in front of them first, they don't sound ready to go to restaurants yet!

Am trying to think how many restaurants (apart from Wagamama) don't serve the food to the table at the same time - and I can't think of any.
That said I notice the places that ask if we want the children's main meals served with adult starters - and i love them!
Probably matters more with age - have a toddler, but as they get older then yes, they no longer need special treatment, only as long as you need to cut their food and check temperature before they are old enough to do it themselves...

I'm a bit surprised that so many people think they should come first!
If we go out together we eat together. Children don't trump adults in my world.

If children are grown up enough to eat in a restaurant, they should be grown up enough to have the patience to start their meal when everyone else is starting theirs...at least that's how I was brought up. If cutting up has to happen, it happens when everyone has got their meal and is ready to start. Kids and adults both suck it up. Boo hoo.

Any good food place will bring the kids' food first

Not true. Like I said, they should bring it together, unless asked differently. You might want your children to eat first, I want to all eat together. Why would I pay for a meal out to eat at different times? The whole point is a family meal, and that means we eat at the same time!

Any why would you make exceptions for children? How do you teach them how to eat appropriately and socially if you make exceptions for them?

But also the children tend to finish sooner, so I used to find if they were served first I was either having to bolt it at the end or rather distracted.

When we eat out we always have DS' meal come out with the starters to avoid a gap, mostly because he takes so long to eat! I'm sure most places are happy to oblige if you ask them.

Yes, everyone should eat together, that's why it makes sense to serve the children's meals first. By the time you cut food up, the adult food will be arriving, so everyone can eat together.

Still don't agree OP. Are you cutting up a T-bone steak?

Do you know, I had never even thought about this. Let alone got into a lather about it.

When you are in the middle of the "needs cutting up and blowing on it" stage it's easy to forget that in the grand scheme of things it's a very short amount of time in your family's life and perhaps restaurants don't necessarily want to rearrange their kitchen and systems to accommodate that, especially when you don't even ask.

I don't want the kids stuff first. I want it all together.

I prefer to eat at the same time.

I can see the children first logic- some might tantrum otherwise. I can also see the children last reasoning- Some get bored when finished and might kick off. I think you need to specify if you want children to be served first.

Yanbu OP. All I want is a minute window, the child meal comes. I get them set up but cutting food, making sure bib is on etc. Then mine turns up and we eat together.
I was a waitress in my youth. On the gantry when it was all ready at The same time, I'd take the kids then come back for the adults. It's not hard.

Yes, everyone should eat together, that's why it makes sense to serve the children's meals first. By the time you cut food up, the adult food will be arriving, so everyone can eat together

Cutting up food for a toddler takes seconds. And if they are older than a toddler, why are you cutting up their food? And if you're only talking about the adult food arriving a minute earlier, then this is a made up problem.
It is a made up problem anyway, because if you want your kids food first, just tell your server that when you order. End of problem.

Cutting the odd bit of sausage or chicken is so quick, it can be done between mouthfuls. Are you talking about babies and having to pulp a whole meal?

I'm also confused about the cutting up. Why does it take so long that an adult meal will get cold in the time it takes? Could the cutting up be done in the kitchen or food that was less complicated ordered? Or kids taught to cut up themselves. Are we talking about toddlers here? Older children should be able to use a knife and fork.

No, not cutting up Tbone steaks.

It's just easier to cut up sausages, chicken, whatever in front of me, rather than have to reach across my already cooling food to cut up theirs. As I said, everywhere that I waited tables, staff were instructed to serve DCs first (obviously not necessary if all food comes at the same time, but where a return visit to the kitchen is necessary).

It's not about DC's needs trumping adults. Adults sometimes need to sort out children's requirements before they get to eat in peace.

I think YABU, as well as children learning to wait there are also children that eat so quickly that are finished when the adults are still waiting for food and in these cases, adults don't get to enjoy their food either

FWIW I'm told Debretts say you don't wait for everyone to be served. More polite to eat what you've been given while it's hot. Was delighted when I was told that. Have not bothered to check because this answer suits me better

But children are the age of food cutting up for a very short time, so again, its not really an enduring problem, even if it wasn't a non problem that is solved by just saying what you want, which it is.
You are really trying to find something to complain about here.

World War III nearly started when dining at a carvery, the waitress thought it would be a good idea to bring out the adult desserts before the kids!!!

Nope, not trying to find something to complain about. Just having a wee moan about something that actually happens in restaurants with poor training that irks me.