AIBU - Child friendly kids menu...

[Blearymorningeyes]

Is there such a thing as a "child friendly" kids menu? Surely all kids menus are child friendly?!

I invited my SIL to my favourite Mexican restaurant for my birthday. She has 2 DC, ages 4 and 7.

I sent her the kids menu to look at, which has mini versions of Mexican fare such as fajitas, nachos and enchiladas, plus some "plainer" things too, such as chicken breast with mash. She just messaged me saying "Hi Bleary, can we please choose a different restaurant, because the kids menu doesn't really look very child friendly?". I feel sad as I and was so looking forward to going to this particular restaurant for my birthday and I don't see why her kids wouldn't like at least one thing on the menu - it's pretty standard, isn't it?! By "child friendly" does that translate to "It doesn't have sausages/fish fingers and chips"?

AIBU in thinking that my birthday restaurant choice shouldn't be changed because of this?

I hate confrontation... Help!

My child wouldn't eat anything on that menu unfortunately. Not through lack of trying on my part, but entirely through the sensory issues she has. We would not go, but would hope to celebrate with you another time.

That sounds really tough, @MrsKoala - so stressful for you.

Temp, you know these perfect children of yours? Did they sleep through the night from six weeks, 6pm until 7am? Mine did, so obviously I am a better parent than you are. Because I was lucky enough to have good sleepers, I am assuming this is because we did everything right and is nothing to do with luck at all. I will be extremely dismissive of any parent whose child dies not sleep as it is obviously the parents' fault.
Annoying, isn't it?
Although I imagine Temp's perfect children were also perfect sleepers.

This thread really is turning into MN bingo.
My child has never had McDonald's - tick
My child looooves sushi - tick
We cook with our children and teach them about food - tick
My DC/DGC/DN rolls their eyes at kids menus - tick
My children demand a smaller portion of adult meals and would NEVER eat kids food - tick
Do people really feed their children food like this? - tick

And a special mention for Temp's packed lunch of miso broth and sushi.

Mine was also a crap sleeper.
And a (really ) late talker, SALT involvement.

I win at crappiest parent ever, somehow she's still alive and doing quite well.

@cathf
Nope I was breastfeeding twins responsively and babies under 4 months are not designed to go more than 4-5 hours without milk.
Undisturbed nights are beneficial for parents not very young babies so no I don't think your a better parent but never said I was stop being so defensive.

@cathf

This thread really is turning into MN bingo. My child has never had McDonald's - tick My child looooves sushi - tick We cook with our children and teach them about food - tick My DC/DGC/DN rolls their eyes at kids menus - tick My children demand a smaller portion of adult meals and would NEVER eat kids food - tick Do people really feed their children food like this? - tick

And a special mention for Temp's packed lunch of miso broth and sushi.

You've obviously been peering through my double patio doors

@drinkfeckarsegirls Sorry to disappoint, but my birthday isn't for a couple of weeks! Will definitely pop back for an update (unless SIL provides an update before that)

I think it's rather surprising how this thread has evolved. I'm not the thread police, but here is my stance:

If little Timmy in Swansea was hand reared on artisan cheese and organic vegetables and helps bake his own bread every day, that's fine by me.
If Jessica in Swindon is going through a tough patch and her favourite food is chicken dippers and chips, that's fine by me.

Just be nice to each other, as we don't know the circumstances!

Restaurants should offer more choice in general, so that kids aren't offered the same fare everywhere they go. Most of us wouldn't like that as adults, so why presume that kids do?!

... by that time they were eating sushi olives etc from aged two.

It's my thread, so do I have permission to eye roll?

I bought a fajita kit after I read your first post, and had it that night!

I found a great thing - wipe a little bit of oil into a Pyrex dish, squidge in a tortilla and push it down then bake in the oven (200) for 10-15 mins and you get those edible tortilla bowls!

I’m sure everyone else knew this but I’ve once recently discovered that you can do this!

This is genius, thank you! I've been buying the overpriced tortilla boats.

That could be a problem these days; the only place I know that sells white grape juice is Waitrose. It seems to have disappeared from everywhere else.

@Blearymorningeyes feel free to eye roll at parents feeding healthy food after saying "be nice" but your post was because your SIL's kids were fussy. and in my opinion as health professional working with children most of our clients poor nutrition is not due to fussy children it's down to poor food habits by parents and I don't roll my eyes at them I offer advice and education or refer on to paediatric nutritions if there is a genuine issue with allergies or eating disorders.
It's to laugh at parents who follow correct guidance from the NHS regarding to make yourself feel better but obesity costs the NHS a fortune which is why offer preventative advice.

Nope I was breastfeeding twins responsively and babies under 4 months are not designed to go more than 4-5 hours without milk.
Undisturbed nights are beneficial for parents not very young babies so no I don't think your a better parent

How did you manage to find an opportunity to be even more smug and judgemental on a completely unrelated topic, in response to what was clearly a joke! 😂

I have extremely fussy PIL, and personally I think it is a matter of courtesy to ensure all my guests will enjoy the restaurant I have chosen, so I always ensure that everyone can find something on the menu they like when I invite people. What's the point of dragging people to a place where they will just hate the food?

I don't understand why children are treated differently. They have a perfect right to dislike foods and it's very, very normal to go through a fussy phase. It is a horrible feeling as a parent trying to coax your child to eat something knowing they won't like it. Bringing in new flavours and textures often has to be done carefully which is presumably why your SIL prepares a special, more neutral version of certain foods at home.

My DD went through a fussy phase that lasted five whole years. Yes, it was frustrating and limiting. But I did not put her in positions where she had to sit watching everyone else eat because nothing on the menu met her tastes. Trying to force someone to eat is pointless. If you were presented with a choice of pickled duck foetus or a whole broiled sheep's head, would you happily tuck in (maybe you would, I don't know you, but I'm just trying to say that if the menu gives you a choice of things you simply don't like, it won't be a nice experience for you).

I wouldn't dream of dragging my PIL to a sushi restaurant, knowing they simply won't attempt to eat the food. It just seems selfish to deliberately pick a place where some of your guests will not enjoy themselves fully. So if there was a child in the party who had a similar distaste for the cuisine I've picked, I'd give it a miss and go to that restaurant with my partner on another occasion, say an anniversary.

But that's just my take on things.

If I was your SIL I guess I would probably turn up to the restaurant but I'd bring meals for the children that I know they can eat, and then I'd offer to see if they want to try something on my plate (fully knowing the answer will be no). I would be pleasant but you wouldn't get much more than a cheap card from me for your birthday, and privately I'd think you were pretty selfish and uncaring!

I live in Swansea and I would say you are way off the mark with little Timmy .

Temp’s on a wind-up. She was doing well but she was pushing it with the miso soup and blew it with the responsive twin breastfeeding.

8/10, very good.

(It’s not the miso itself, by the way. My kid loves sushi and would probably love miso if I let her try it but she has a very savoury tooth and I keep an eye on her salt intake. It’s the disingenuous, wide-eyed naïveté of simply not understanding why all children don’t eat this way).

Ugh, italic fail. Sorry.

@Zhampagne
You seem weirdly obsessed with deriding my decision to feed my twins healthy food.
They are teens know but yes I breastfed them it's not impressive lots of mums manage to breast feed and as I've mentioned before I work in public health for the NHS with families from a variety of backgrounds with children under 5.
They buy lunch now but I've included some pics of lunches Ive smudged out the names because I don't want you stalking them to try and force feed them Macdonalds ( which they have occasionally because thier not toddlers.

Miso soup is soooo salty, I wouldn't give it to a child to be honest, it does contain a lot of vitamins etc but I wouldn't say that for a child it's particularly great. Plenty of other foods which provide the same without the salt.

If you have Asian supermarkets near you low salt option is available with risk of outing myself the area of London we live in has large Chinese and Asian population which is probably my DD enjoys Japanese and Chinese food.

Temp, I don't doubt that you feed your children everything that you claim. I don't need photographic evidence. I've already mentioned that my kids eat sushi, and I breastfed.

I'm sure that in your professional capacity you advise with a bit more self-awareness than you've expressed on this thread. There are posters here who have discussed how terribly worrying they have found their own children's eating and your responses haven't been especially reassuring or kind.

@Temp123999 if you work in public health,I'm sure you've come across kids that just refuse to eat.

And surely it's better they eat McDonalds than eat nothing at all.

You seem very blinkered for someone working in the NHS and with children.