Facts for Families: Dining away from home with young children
•June 5, 2024•
By Cheri Burcham
Family Life Educator
I do not enjoy cooking. I CAN cook – I just don’t like to. So, my husband and I have been fortunate to be able to eat out at restaurants quite often – when he also chose not to cook. When we had our son, I tried to cook more at home, but we slipped back into that same routine of going out to eat several days of the week – and our son was right there with us. I felt like it was good for him socially but would give him the opportunity to try a variety of foods, and to this day, there is not too many things he won’t eat! But it can be a challenge at times to take young children outside of the home for meals. The Illinois Early Learning Project (IELP) has a tip sheet on this very topic that I would like to share with you. According to IELP, young children eat some meals outside of their home, including locations like: other homes, schools, parks, food courts, cafeterias, hotels, and restaurants. Supporting young children as they learn to enjoy meals in new places takes some effort, but the outcome is rewarding.