Becoming a child-friendly restaurant: what parents really look for

A family going out to eat rarely chooses based on the menu. They choose based on one question: can we sit here for two hours without it becoming a battle. Whoever answers that question with yes gets the table.

That's good news, because the answer depends only slightly on your kitchen.

What parents really judge

• Is there something to do while waiting, and does it still work after ten minutes?
• Can the children's food arrive before the parents' food?
• Is there room for a pram without half the venue needing to move aside?
• Is there a relaxed reaction if something gets knocked over?
• Are there other families, or are you the only ones among couples who were clearly seeking peace and quiet?

The most important question a parent asks isn't 'is it tasty' but 'will this be relaxed or not'.

The children's menu is the least important part

Almost every venue has one, and it's practically the same everywhere. So it doesn't set you apart. What does stand out: a smaller portion of something from the regular menu, or the option to share. Parents appreciate it when their child doesn't automatically end up with the chicken nuggets.

Entertainment that keeps working

Colouring sheets keep a child occupied for five to ten minutes. After that, they start over, or they get bored. What works longer is something with variety built in.

Table games via a QR code have two advantages here. Nothing can be lost or needs tidying up, and a child can play several rounds in a row without it staying the same. Games like memory, spot the difference and puzzles are short enough for the waiting time. See the overview.

What's needed per age group

Child-friendly isn't one category but a range. What works for a three-year-old bores a nine-year-old within a minute.

• Up to about four: a parent's attention is the only thing that really works. What you can offer is a proper high chair and food that arrives quickly.
• Four to seven: colouring, sticking, and short games that don't require reading. Memory and spot-the-difference fall into this category.
• Seven to eleven: this is the age where a child can start occupying themselves independently. Puzzles, quizzes and games against a brother or sister hold their attention longest.
• Eleven and older: they want to be treated like the rest of the table. A game the whole family joins in works better than something specifically for children.

The age most venues target is four to seven, while it's actually the older group that stays seated longest and stands out most when things go wrong.

Timing in the kitchen

This is the adjustment that does the most and costs nothing. Have the children's food go out ten minutes before the parents'. Children eat faster and finish sooner; if everyone starts at the same time, the children are done while the parents are halfway through, and that's when the restlessness starts.

What you don't need to do

A play corner is the solution people think of most often and the one that works out least often. It takes up space you need on a busy evening, it needs keeping clean, and it draws children away from the table just as the food arrives. Only do it if you genuinely have the space to spare.

What your staff need to know

This is the part most often skipped, and it matters more than the layout. Three things that make the difference between a relaxed family table and a tense one:

• Speak to the child, not just the parent. A child allowed to order for themselves sits differently at the table than a child being talked about.
• React to spilled food before the parent apologises. Being the one to grab a cloth removes the awkwardness. Waiting to be asked confirms it.
• Don't ask if everything's to their liking the moment a child is crying. Come back two minutes later.

None of these three cost money or time. They only cost someone having said it once.

The moments where it goes wrong

When a family visit goes wrong, it almost always happens at one of these three points:

1. On arrival, when it turns out there's no high chair or the table is too cramped. The tone is set immediately.
2. Twenty minutes after ordering, when the food hasn't arrived yet and the children have nothing to do. This is the longest and heaviest moment.
3. After the main course, when the parents want coffee and the children are finished. This is where a venue loses the extra order that would otherwise have happened.

Points two and three are both waiting time, and both can be solved with something a child can do independently.

Show it before they're inside

Parents look at your Google profile before booking. Make sure there's a photo showing a family at the table, and state literally in the description that children are welcome and what's available for them. That brings in more bookings than any change to the venue itself.

More on how this plays out for a restaurant can be found on the restaurant page; what it costs is on the pricing page.