fast food and 3 year old...

commuterised

Is a 3 (nearly 4) year old too young for Mc Donalds?

All kids want to go there but I'm concerned 3 is too young.

Also what age is free on the DART?
and is 3 too young for the cinema?

Yes this 3 yr old isnt mine, so I need to learn fast!

Ph3n0m

Speaking from experience (8 yr old daughter), 3 yrs old is way too young for McDonalds. I compare it to the likes of the cinema - atleast 5 I feel is a good age where they can be brought to places like that.

Simply because under that age, most children have the instinctive need to run around, scream as loud as they can, etc (I know mine did, when I made the mistake of bringing her to Burger King).

My advice would be wait til they're older

Talliesin

From a fast-food is bad point of view, or a behaviour in restaurants point of view?

We let Sadhbh try some McDonald's fries quite young. Because she hadn't yet been affected by their marketting she spat them out and wouldn't eat any more. We re-enforce this by going "yuck" when we see a McDonald's advert. Béibhinn hasn't tried any because no-one offered her any.

If they actually asked to go though the answer would be "when you're old enough to go by yourself, I'm not going in there it stinks". The only time I was in a McDonald's in recent years was to use their baby-changing room, and despite the broken nappy-bin the baby-changing room smelled a lot nicer than the rest of the place (which smelled like they were frying the nappy-bin's contents).

As for behaviour in restaurants, the only way to teach children how to behave in restaurants is to bring them to out for dinner.

The girls (elder now 3, younger nearly 2) have been eatting out since they were on solids (and we'd bring them to restaurants before then). When they were very young we'd bring them to Wagamama, let them make a mess out of a bowl of plain noodles, and leave a big tip to compensate for the extra clean-up work. They are told that if they get out of hand we'll just pay up and leave and they are now well-behaved enough that one of us can bring them out on our own (before then man-to-man marking was essential ).

I'm not saying they're prefect; they do want to run around a bit, and how much of a faux-pas that is depends on the restaurant (there are a few very child-friendly places that practically encourage it, I can normally get them to settle down were it's less appropriate), and there was one complete disaster that was pretty embarrassing. But I don't think I'd be able to rely on this if it wasn't for the fact that they are used to occasional meals out.

As such I'd say the thing to do is to find a child-friendly restaurant were running around won't get you chucked out first. Pasta di Milano's have a play-room on Saturday afternoons. Mario's on Terenure Road have a very child-friendly attitude (if a child starts running about a waitress will have a chat with the kid and then suggest they rejoin their parents rather than complain). Starting with meals there you can gauge how ready they are for other places.

We tried bringing Sadhbh to the cinema when she was about 2, and it didn't work, so we had to bring her out again. Last weekend though she went and it was okay.

daveg

Originally posted by commuterised
Is a 3 (nearly 4) year old too young for Mc Donalds?

All kids want to go there but I'm concerned 3 is too young.

Also what age is free on the DART?
and is 3 too young for the cinema?

Yes this 3 yr old isnt mine, so I need to learn fast!

3 is not too young for McDonalds. Were bringing my son (every now and again as a treat as he loves the feckin place) since about 2. He has an excellent (and I mean excellent) diet so dont start giving out to me... lots of fruit/spuds ect ect.

3 is (in my opinion) too young for the cinema. We attmpted to bring my son to monsters inc at about 3 1/2. He was scared ****less and would not go in. We found out later (duh) that he thought there were actual monsters in there

Dart - no idea.

ferdi

micky d's is fine for kids of all ages.

Victor

McDonalds, I would leave alone for the moment and wouldn't make it a specific outing.

Originally posted by commuterised
Also what age is free on the DART?

Phone 1850-366222 for fare advice. I think it is under-2s are free. Other child fares are fairly modest.

Nevyn

Mackers is a terrible habit to get young kids into it is the silly toys which you know you will be tripping up over the house. Plus the gimmick of get everyone arrgh.

Mackers is really child friendly and that is why it makes it an easy choice, high chairs, no kniives or forks to throw , no plates to be smashed ect, but in the long run it is not worth it.
the more you insist on good table manners at home ie staying put and not redecorating the table and those at it the easier it is to take them out to eat.

going to the movies is not going to be an easy trip at that age,
why not try a girraffes centre or simluar activity place or the
natural history musem that is a good few hours of getting the lil ones to tell you the names of everything they see and know.
And it never rains thee unlike the zoo.

Train fares for all children 3 and under is free.

Victor

Originally posted by Thaed
natural history musem that is a good few hours of getting the lil ones to tell you the names of everything they see and know.

Beware genuine human skeletons.

Nevyn

Pffft You dont have to tell the children there are Real they dont know the difference between a real one and one made out of plaster. beside most kids esp lil boys will stand there poking them sleves to feel thier ribs, and bones in thier arms amazed.
Reall good way to get a relucant kids to drink milk is to tell them that thier skeletons needs it so that they can grow bigger

mayhem#

Originally posted by Talliesin
We let Sadhbh try some McDonald's fries quite young. Because she hadn't yet been affected by their marketting she spat them out and wouldn't eat any more. We re-enforce this by going "yuck" when we see a McDonald's advert.

So when McDonalds does it it's evil marketing, but when you do it it's OK?!
Sad liitle people....

E.

Talliesin

Originally posted by mayhem#
So when McDonalds does it it's evil marketing

I never said it was evil marketing. A lot of their techniques I would describe as immoral, but I think McDonald's have every right to claim their food tastes nice, just as I have the right to say it isn't (of course my case is easier to back up with evidence).

but when you do it it's OK?!

Yes it is okay for me to educate my children.

Nemesis

I've 3 kids.
2 yr old....3 yr old and 5yr old.
All different.
It really depends on the child.
I've brought my oldest guy everywhere since he was able to walk but the middle girl is a nightmare to go any where with.
If the kid want to go to MacDonalds bring him/her.
I cant stand going there but my oldest always loved the freebies.
Wasnt a food issue with him.
But I always made him aware I knew he wanted to go to Mac donnies for the toy.
And the Cinema....go to it...if they kid dont like it...is restless..etc...just leave.
And try again some other time.
Brian.

daveirl

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Sangre

If you do bring the kid to the cinema, make sure you are sitting somewhere where you can leave easy enough so no to disrupt everyone else. There is nothing worse than having a movie runined by someone else.

I suppose you'll have to take a chance, some kids can sit still, some cant.

Victor

RE: cinema, take them to a morning show on a saturday, it's going to be full of kids so you won't be disturbing anyone.

RainyDay

Talliesin wrote:

Mario's on Terenure Road have a very child-friendly attitude (if a child starts running about a waitress will have a chat with the kid and then suggest they rejoin their parents rather than complain).

We had a very child-unfriendly experience in Mario's in Terenure. We rang ahead beforehand for a reservation and were told that they don't do reservations, but that there would be no problem getting a table at that time (early evening) for us & baby in car-seat.

When we arrived, there was no-one greeting customers and no sign asking you to wait to be seated, so we moved to a table for four over by the side. This allowed us to pop baby/car-seat up on the bench (and support it with the table).

A waiter came over and told us he had someone for that table, and wanted to move us to a table for two. No problem in principle, but that table was right beside their dessert cold cabinet & we were worried about something dropping onto baby. There was no 'safe' spot on the floor where we could plonk baby, out of the way of the traffic of waiters moving in/out. Amazingly, they suggested that we place the car-seat up on an ordinary chair, which would be very unsafe and not secure. In these litigious days, I'm amazed staff could suggest anything so dangerous.

I then asked the waiter if there was a reservation for the original table for four - He answered yes, so I asked him why they would accept our reservation this morning. He was a bit stumped, and then had the inspiration of saying they only accept reservation for large bookings. So four people is a 'large' booking but 2 plus baby is not - go figure.

We went next door to Little Ceasars and had a pleasant meal with loads of space & consideration for baby. Won't be rushing back to Mario's in a hurry.

unkel

Talliesin, some great tips there, will try

RainyDay, I feel you got the wrong end of the stick somehow

We've been going to Mario's for many years. They genuinely don't take reservations, except for large groups. They are very busy from an early hour on, especially at the weekend. You typically show up and within seconds a member of staff will come to you and they'll tell you how long it will be before they'll have a table.

You shouldn't just sit down at any non occupied table in any restaurant apart from fast food or in a pub

Mario's must be well organised, because they are usually not much of the mark in assessing the time before you'll get your table. You can wait upstairs in a lovely and cosy traditional room until fetched to be brought to your table

I feel Mario's staff are always very friendly and helpful. Staff turnover is extremely low compared to most other restaurants we frequent

Agreed, they shouldn't have suggested to put the carseat on a chair, but what were you thinking, bringing just a carseat into a cramped and busy restaurant and planning to put the carseat on the floor. Would you not bring the wheels? Or request (provided the baby is old enough) over the phone prior to your visit if they have high chairs?

Roller Toaster

Sorry, wrong thread. Ignore.

Beruthiel

commuterised wrote:

Is a 3 (nearly 4) year old too young for Mc Donalds?

do you know what's in that crap? it's not food!
I wouldn't let my daughter eat there when she was younger, never have - now that she knows what's in it, she won't touch the stuff.
you can educate your child - at 3 I know this is not possible, but just because they ask to go there (thanks to tv adverts) doesn't mean you have to bring him/her.
read 'Fast Food Nation'
you will never darken the door of McD's again

RainyDay

Hi Unkel

Just to be absolutely clear about what happened;

1) We hung around for a while after entering Mario's waiting for someone to greet us and/or steer us to a table. No-one did, and several staff members just ignored us as they went about their business. There was no 'please wait here to be seated' sign as you often see in other restaurants. Hence our decision to head for a table ourselves.

2) The staff member we were dealing with specifically told us that there was a reservation for that table, and when I questioned him about their reservations policy, he stated that they only take reservations for 'large groups'. When I asked him if '4' was considered a large group (as it was a table for 4), he was kind-of stumped.

3) What were you thinking asking me what I was thinking by bringing in the car seat? Baby is too young/small to sit safely in a high chair (she has nearly slid out of 1 or 2 high chairs when we have tried). Why would 'wheels' have been better than the car seat? The wheels would have taken up even more room in the cramped/busy restaurant. The car seat certainly hasn't caused problems in any of the many, many other restaurants that we have eaten in with baby over recent months.

In hindsight, it is possible that they had the table we occupied earmarked for someone who was waiting upstairs, which is quite understandable. What is unforgivable was their failure to meet/greet incoming customers, their lying to us regarding having a reservation for that table, and suggesting that we should put the car seat sitting on a chair.

Chucky the tree

daveirl wrote:

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bit of a difference between nazism and macdoanlds though to be fair.

daveirl

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Shoolaboola

i think it depends on the child's ability to behave.
My 3 year old niece has been to both the cinema and macDonalds, apart from a slight obsession with burgers....nothing has gone wrong.

ArthurDent

I've a 3 year old and a 5 year old and they both love the cinema - I thought they'd have the attention span of gnats - but they just adore it, also my 3 year old loves the music to the titles at the end and thinks this is his own private disco - so if you've seen a nutty 3 year old dancing at Liffey valley to the end-titles - I am that parent!
As to McD's - I hate hate hate it - BUT I've given up trying to fight it, my kids get to go maybe once a month and they're mad about the toys but couldn't be ars*d about the food. The food court in Liffey Valley is great for that reason, McD's and loads of other options - so I tend to get something from the Bagel place or Nude and at this stage the kids end up eating more of my food that the McD cr@p. At this stage I tend to grab 2 Euro worth of toys from Smiths etc before heading for the food and they will give McD's a miss.

angeldelight

My auntie who's a dietician brings her kids from time to time. Only thing she does is knock any extra salt off the fries for the younger ones and confiscate the toys til they've finished!

unkel

Hi RainyDay

First off my apologies - your second post clarifies a lot. The staff should not have advised you to put the carseat on a chair. They should have approached you while you were waiting to be seated

We've had many a good experience going to Mario's, but admittedly, we've been over there only once with the baby, when she was about 3 months or so. The staff know us well and probably put in the extra effort to seat us all comfortably (with baby in her wheels + carseat)

Have you any positive experiences in other restaurants you wish to share? I want to try them out!

Great experience we had in a tiny local restaurant here in Lucan, genuinely Italian. As soon as the baby started giving out, they took the initiative to offer a bowl of boiling water to heat the bottle - amazing

RainyDay

Hi Unkel - Sounds like they looked after you well in Lucan. I can't say I've had any such exceptionally good experiences, though I've had good experiences in Mia Cucino in Dun Laoghaire & Don Valentino's in Ballinteer (but avoid the coffee - dishwater!)

tipperaryboy

This thread reminds me of something.I was in McDonalds in O'Connel Street in Dublin a few weeks ago,went to the toilet their and could not go cause the smell of urine and poo was unberable.That place would'nt pass a Health&Safety test in a millon years!

Ronan Raver77

I bring my son to mackers probably every 3 weeks if hes very good hes nearly 2.5yrs old.I havent brought him to the cinema yet caus i think the dark and loud sounds might frighten him and more so i dont wanna pay for a movie having to leave caus hes upset :rolleyes: might wait for 1more year for the cinema.