Your Opinion of "Kid Friendly"

All,

Recently I was checking out the Louisville Courier-Journal (online) "Dining Guide". In the process I noticed that the person/s "reviewing" the restaurants seemed to be positively obsessed with the state of "kid friendliness" of each of the particular eating establishments.

As a soon to be resident of Louisville, I'm curious...is this an "issue" in Louisville ?...and just for the sake of conversation I'm interested in the experience/opinions and/or observations of fellow forum users.

Thanks,

Steve P

Possibly the writer(s) have young children and they are obsessive on the subject. I think you would be hard pressed to find a kid unfriendly restaurant in Louisville.

Obviously common sense comes into play here as well. It would be ill advised to take an infant to a top tier, fine dining establishment just because of the incongruity of it.

As for other restaurants, we started taking our son out with us at 2 months of age. If he was fussy one of us would eat while the other walked around with him to minimize other diners discomfort. As he grew, he was taught proper behavior for any dining situation (courtesy, respect for others, voice level, manners, etc) and he has been with us every step of the way.

Now, at 10 years, he is an adventerous diner who prefers a wide variety of all foods, with his current absolute favorite being Havana Rumba/Mojito.

I think we are fortunate here to have places that become part of your family and share with you the celebration of family and the events that create a tapestry of memories that all remember for the years ahead.

Hope your travel here will be trouble free and an early welcome to you and yours.

Well stated Ed.

We have addressed this issue on the forum, but more about restaurants having a healthier offering for kids rather than the "me too" fried stuff. I believe that you will find most restaurants are very kid friendly in Louisville.

I think it can be important to know for two reasons.

The first is the obvious: you want to know where you can take the kiddos for the night that is receptive and accomadating

the second: you want to know where no one else will be taking their kids so you can enjoy the fact that you actually fixed your hair, ironed your clothes and even possibly paid someone to watch yours for a few hours!

kid friendly == adult hostile

[Robin Garr]

kid friendly == adult hostile

Cute laugh line, but not really helpful to this discussion.

I'd like to intervene at this point, though, to assure lurkers that this cynical view probably doesn't reflect a consensus here. Places like Mojito and Seviche and many more Louisville Originals that handle families professionally and well demonstrate that it can be done. Welcoming families does not require that an establishment turn itself into Chuck E. Cheese.

Very well said, Robin!

We have a 13 year old son, and he has dined out with us virtually from the day he could eat solid food at a wide variety of restaurants -- many very upscale. Because of our lifestyle we eat out alot...3 to 4 times a week, sometimes more. In addition we travel alot which usually includes searching out "nice" places to eat.

Only once in 13 years did this become a problem -- at the time we moved to a secluded table in the back of the dining room (he was 2 or 3 at the time) and I tipped twice what I normally would have for the trouble. This was at the Hurstbourne Lane Bristol.

He's never really used a "children's menu" and as such he now enjoys a rather sophisticated pallette for 13 year old. He's comfortable with a large variety of ethnic cuisines and food options. Basically he will try anything.

Obviously there are certain dining situations that are not suitable for small children; but, IMO, children who eat out alot become acclimated to "proper behavior" in that setting. Unless the establishment has a policy, the child's ability to be comfortable in the situation is just as important as the restaurant in question, Chuck-E-Cheese excluded.

[Robin Garr]

Obviously there are certain dining situations that are not suitable for small children; but, IMO, children who eat out alot become acclimated to "proper behavior" in that setting. Unless the establishment has a policy, the child's ability to be comfortable in the situation is just as important as the restaurant in question, Chuck-E-Cheese excluded.

Very well said, Mark. Back in the Jurassic Era, my parents did much the same with my younger brother and sister and me, and I attribute my lifelong interest in food and dining directly to those experiences. It's tough to generalize about "children in restaurants" without sorting out whether said children (and their parents) know how to behave.

but, IMO, children who eat out alot become acclimated to "proper behavior" in that setting. .

I agree as well. Growing up we always went out to eat once or twice a week, generally to Ryan's on Preston (now closed) on Friday and Shoney's on Eastern Parkway for Sunday breakfast. We learned fast and quick how to behave in public. I also think it helped when we were at public places other than resturants.

Don't kill the messenger, but we nearly always went to buffet's, growing up in a 7 member family it really was the only economical way to feed everyone something that they wanted. We loved the Banquet Table, wish they were still here....loved their mashed potatoes and gravy....

I'm thankful that my mom and dad had quite eclectic tastes when my brother and I were young. One of my first memories of having dinner at a restaurant revolves around Chinese food. Back when I was a kid, kid's menu did not equal fried, cheese coated crap.

I was a weird kid though, taste-wise. I loved broccoli, brussels sprouts, and artichokes. Still do!

If we go out to eat with my brother and 5 year old niece, we have to make sure that they serve something she'll eat (fried, cheese smothered crap) which makes it unpleasant for the more adventurous adults. As a result, she's at least 20lbs overweight, and has what looks like a beer belly. I'm actually pretty worried about her health. That's entirely another issue, however.

Oh well, more plantain chips and sweet potato fries w/smoked honey for me!

this reminds me of dinner at our neighbor's house the other day. their six-year-old granddaughter said grace before we ate, and her prayer included "and please, God, give money to those who can't afford to eat out in restaurants and please let them be able to eat out more in restaurants. thank you for this food. and thank you for us being able to eat out in restaurants, too."

we were all trying not to laugh during the prayer and then we all started laughing afterward. Her mom said, "Can you tell we eat out a lot?"

I'm all for well-behaved, well-managed kids in restaurants. We started ours early and they learned to appreciate good food when very young. And at the first sign of disruption, they were taken away until they could rrgain the composure. The problems come from the kids that are allowed to fuss and scream and squirm while the adults at the table babble on, seemingly oblivious to the rantings of their little one. It makes it awful for everyone.

We were in Rivue Friday night. At the next table was a group with a crying 2 year old. Her apparent momma just ignored her and let her wail away for better than a half hour. Diners all around us were obviously disturbed. Not a nice dining experience for anyone, and certainly not one to be expected at a place trying to be an upscale dining experience (and, failing miserably, by the way). It's not the kids's fault - no young child can be expected to sit quietly for as long as a meal takes at a nice restaurant. And any parent with a lick of sense knows that and plans accordingly. McDonald's with a play area is one thing. A white tablecloth, "fancy" restaurant is quite another.

"regain their composure. sorry.

Jeffrey,

Your experience at Rivue is what gives kids eating out a bad name. In this case, the Mom & Dad should have taken turns taking the little one outside until the tears subsided. That's what we do if our 3 year old can't handle it at a restaurant. We'd also not take him to that fancy of a place at that age: that's guaranteed not to work out. But sticking to McDonalds is not the answer : I'm with Robin and the other posters- exposing kids regularly to real eating out (not fast food) is how they learn to behave in restaurants and acquire a taste for good food.

Deb