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You are here: Home / Travelling with Kids / Ideas for dining out with toddlers

Ideas for dining out with toddlers

So after doing a post about dining booster seats the other day, it got me thinking about what other things are useful and sometimes indispensable when you are trying to feed your baby or toddler when out and about. I’ve rounded up a few products that either we use or I would consider buying. Dining out with a little one can be a bit hit and mess miss what with the possibility of tantrums, food refusal or trying to eat when really all they want to do is sleep/ play/ shout very loudly.

child eating cake

I should mention now that these ideas are mainly for if you’re taking food with you for your toddler to eat. So if you always buy them food when out and they can successfully use restaurant cutlery then it’s a big thumbs up from me and you should take a look at some of our other posts for more useful ‘travelling with kids’ inspiration 🙂

How do you carry your little ones food?

I ask this as I took the usual ‘bung it in a plastic box’ approach to carrying food for my daughter. Which worked just fine but did sometimes mean food looked a bit unappealing when we arrived at our destination. I think a lovely looking pack up box would of made all the difference (and still could actually) instead of the boring food boxes we use.

tum tum snack pots stackable

One that looks like these made by TUMTUM would be ideal. The boxes are super cute/ cool depending on the design you choose and would be used until they go to school. The pots can also be stacked inside each other for easy storage (it can’t just be me with an overflowing cupboard of plastic storage pots?!) The pots can also be thrown in the dishwasher to save you having to wash up by hand.

TUM TUM Nesting Children's Snack Boxes, Set of 4 (Bugs)
TUM TUM Nesting Children's Snack Boxes, Set of 4 (Bugs)
  • Simple, yet fun set of 4 x kids snack pots, which nest inside each other for storage
Buy on Amazon

How about refillable food pouches?

fillable food pouches starter kit

I saw this nifty little set at the Kind und Jugend International Tradeshow that’s held in Cologne every year which showcases the newest products for babies and young children. It looked like something that would be super useful and I’ve been meaning to tell you all about it.

When you’re weaning, quite a lot of time is spent making different meal purees of varying degrees of smoothness depending on what age your baby is. We would then freeze them in ice cube trays. If we were off out over a mealtime we would take a few cubes in a pot for our daughter to eat. This method, of course, works fine and lots of parents do this.

However, after seeing these refillable food pouches I could instantly see that they would be so much easier, cleaner and less hassle to store than the ice cube portions. All you do is make up the filling for the pouch (either a hot or cold one) and then put it in the measuring cup that comes with the set. You can even whizz the filling in the cup to make things easier. You then attach one of the empty pouches to the nozzle at the bottom of the cup. Using the plunger, push all the meal into the pouch until it is full. Have a look at how it works in the video below.

The pouches are both freezer safe and microwave safe so you can freeze pouches in preparation and also heat them up easily without having to decant them into a bowl. Your little one can either suck the food straight from the pouch or you can squeeze the puree into a bowl or onto a spoon for them to eat. Such an easy way to store and carry your little ones food. You can continue to use them once your baby is on to chunkier foods for things like smoothies to get a bit more fruit and veg into them!

Fill n Squeeze Weaning Pouch filling System with Re-usable pouches for weaning, pureed fruit,...
Fill n Squeeze Weaning Pouch filling System with Re-usable pouches for weaning, pureed fruit,...
  • SUITABLE FOR WEANING BABIES - from 4 months plus right up to toddlers, to store yoghurts, smoothies, purees and first weaning foods
Buy on Amazon

Do you take children’s cutlery with you?

Our daughter struggles quite a bit with using cutlery, she is nearly 3 now and will still default to using her fingers at every opportunity! We have a few sets of child-sized cutlery as well as the plastic weaning spoons for her to use but her dexterity just isn’t developed enough for the fork or the knife.

doddl children cutlery knife fork spoon

We had a look online and found this company – Doddl – who have spent a lot of time and energy to develop a set of children’s cutlery that play to your child’s strengths and gets them using a spoon, fork and even a knife a lot quicker!

The cutlery is designed for your child to hold easily and have a solidness so that they can smoothly move the food into their mouths. The knife is a revelation- it can cut things by pushing through with slight ‘sawing’ movement- so much better than mini adult knives!

We really love this cutlery set at Kid Transit, our daughter has got to grips with them and we’ve even seen improvement in her using other cutlery as well. Take a look at Doddl’s video all about their cutlery below.

The set is also small enough that you could easily pop it in your bag for when you eat out so they can have the comfort of a familiar and easy to use cutlery instead of having to go back to using unwieldy knives and forks.

Sale
Children's Cutlery for Toddlers & Babies 1 to 5+ years, 3 Piece Knife, Fork & Spoon, Easy Grip and...
Children's Cutlery for Toddlers & Babies 1 to 5+ years, 3 Piece Knife, Fork & Spoon, Easy Grip and...
  • Educational 3-piece knife, fork and spoon set that helps your child learn to eat independently
Buy on Amazon

Dining out with young children: final thoughts

When you have the time to take a look at all the great products out there, then dining out with your little ones can be fun. Take along easy to store pots or refillable food pouches and make sure they have cutlery that they can use without getting frustrated. Biggest tip of all though- take along food that you’re sure they will eat! Dining out in a busy restaurant is probably not the best time to introduce new tastes…..

how to dine out with your toddler

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Jen

    6th March 2018 at 4:06 pm

    Those refillable pouches are a brilliant idea! I wish I’d known about it when we littles were weaning #dreamteam

    Reply
  2. Talya

    8th March 2018 at 12:45 pm

    Refillable pouches are so handy and I love the look of that cutlery that looks really well designed for little hands. Thanks for linking up to #coolmumclub with this! x

    Reply
  3. mummy here and here

    8th March 2018 at 9:00 pm

    My kids are older now buy I wish I knew before about them squeezey pouches as they look very handy and safe some pennies as well X #coolmumclub

    Reply
  4. Sara @ Magical Mama Blog

    9th March 2018 at 3:56 pm

    My toddler refuses to eat off of plates or boxes at this point and still uses her fingers for now. I found some fabulous disposable place mats that stick to the table so if you bring food or are feeding them from your plate, they have a sanitary eating surface and you can confine the mess. Those boxes are adorable and I hope we get to use them in the future!
    #FabFridayPost

    Reply
    • Jenny Curtis

      12th March 2018 at 12:25 pm

      Oooh, they sound a really good idea. Quite a lot of table/ high chair surfaces are a bit questionable so sticky placemats would be perfect!

      Reply
  5. Mother of 3

    9th March 2018 at 10:27 pm

    I wish they had pouches like that when my kids were little! We often brought toys along to entertain them and just let them pick bits and pieces off our plates. #Fabfridaypost.

    Reply
    • Jenny Curtis

      12th March 2018 at 12:26 pm

      We’ve only recently started to order a separate meal for our daughter when properly eating out, although most of the time we end up eating most of it! Unless it’s chips…..

      Reply
  6. Rhyming with Wine

    12th March 2018 at 1:13 pm

    My friend uses the refillable pouches which I think are such a brilliant idea! Love the doddl set and the knife looks great as my two still aren’t so confident with a knife. Thanks for linking up with us for #DreamTeam x

    Reply
    • Jenny Curtis

      13th March 2018 at 1:18 pm

      The Doddl cutlery really is great, perfect for little hands. Thanks for coming over 🙂

      Reply
  7. The Mummy Bubble

    13th March 2018 at 10:05 am

    Brilliant products, I’ve heard of those cutlery sets and think they look so great for kids! Thanks so much for sharing with #fortheloveofBLOG

    Reply
  8. Sarah Stockley

    13th March 2018 at 12:14 pm

    I love those boxes – we ate out often when mine were small and all of these things would have come in so handy. #FabFridayPost

    Reply

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