We took our kids when they were little. WE would use places like McDonalds and Pizza Hut as the training ground. Our kids were taught to sit and eat their meal. No shouting or running in the resturant, etc. They were always well behaved.
I have been to places where other children are acting up and it depends on the situation and how bad it is. Sometimes i feel for the parents and other times I feel that they should remove the child as its not fair to other diners and its not fair to the child.
As your child has a disability its a little different. You can always explain to staff before you arrive and ask for a table as removed from other diners as possible. As long as your child is happy and not distressed then the noise they make needs to be tolerated as long as its not major. I work with special needs children so I know that there is a huge difference between children adn there are some i would say its not a good idea to take them unless you go early and perhaps arrive at 5pm when its quiet so that as it starts to get busy you will be leaving. That way you can relax as well.

I’ve 2 kids with additional needs and to be honest, the last couple of times was such a disaster and drama that I don’t want to go myself again…

Not unless its for a special occasion where we were wanted there like a family birthday. Cost is a factor too – with 3 kids its cheaper for us to get pizzas or chicken and chips

I would take your child to family friendly restaurants. People can’t complain or give you evils then. It’s good to get your children out and experience these settings and at the same time a good opportunity to teach your child what is acceptable behaviour while out and what is not. This is what I’ll be doing once my daughter is a little older (currently one). Plus it’s a great way to enjoy family time!!

Not really. We occasionally ate at Maccas so they could access the play area, if you could call Maccas a restaurant. We had a couple of counter meals for family functions, also not very posh. We just aren’t the restaurant types

For me and my family, we usually only take our son out who is two where he can play as well you can’t expect kids to have to sit at a table and not get bored. I also like to take a goodies bag example colouring book pencils, toys.

yes i always take my kids with me no matter what

I would still go to restaurants if I were you. People are always going to give looks because they are jerks, but no one has ever said anything to me before and I would literally have a screaming child because she had really bad reflux as a baby. All you can do is try, you may not get to go as often as you did before and you may have to leave early every now and then, but that’s better than not going at all and just secluding yourself.

If there is a kids menu and a playground, then you expect to hear noisy kids. If I went out for a nice expensive dinner at a restaurant that didn’t have a kids menu or a playground then I would be disappointed to hear loud children….I wouldn’t say anything though. I would never take my kids somewhere that wasn’t kid friendly.

We used to take our kids out to family friendly places that welcome kids and generally those are the ones affordable . I was lucky we used to blackmail our kids that if they dont behave we wont take them out again and you do this before you walk out the door. Some kids are being themselves no matter how strict you are so I think its best to know your child and if they are distressed or unhappy there is a reason . If they don’t listen , they stay at home anyway.

We didn’t go to many restaurants when our kids were little, still don’t, they aren’t us really. But if I was in a restaurant, or a supermarket or shopping mall etc etc etc, and a child was playing up. I would be sympathising with the parents, if it looked like they were at their wits end and doing all they could to calm the child. Some parents let their kids run amok when out which is awful. But I’m a mum, I know what it’s like, I wouldn’t complain or get bitchy

I would understand to some extent, and wouldn’t approach the parents. I would try to ignore that.

We’ve been taking our daughter to restaurants and cafes since she was about 2, maybe 2 1/2. We only really go to family friendly places and expect there will be some noise from kids. It would be weird if there wasn’t in a kid-friendly restaurant! The only one who seems to funny about kids noise are my in-laws, but they don’t live in Australia all year round and aren’t used to the noise kids make. I think if I was passing by the family and saw the parents struggling or looking stressed about it I would say something to commiserate and probably try to make them laugh, like, “Poor little man, we’ve been there before. It’s hard somedays, isn’t it?” I wouldn’t deliberately go over and jump in because that could be taken the wrong way. But if I was bringing my daughter back from the loo say, I might make a supportive comment. It helps not to feel alone in the struggle.

I take my daughter everywhere with me

I take my boys out all the time. I think it was their early and frequent exposure to restaurants and cafés that helped them learn how to behave.

It depends on the type of restaurant and whether I know how long it will take

Honestly depends on the restaurant. Family friendly restaurants are more our way. My children just won’t stay still. We normally go to a bistro where they have play equipment as my kids won’t 9 times out of 10 actually eat the food

Yes Maccas family restaurant only

We’ve always taken our children out and we take things for them to draw on, activities, books and playdoh. We try and get their food served first. We have a five year old and a 20 month old. We’ve taken them out since they were new borns

Take them out but keep it short and sweet.