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 turning into a fight. Whoever answers that question with yes gets the table.

That's good news, because the answer depends only a small part 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 stroller without half the place having to move?
• Is there a relaxed reaction if something gets knocked over?
• Are there other families around, or are you the only one among couples who were clearly looking for peace and quiet?

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

The kids' menu is the least important part

Almost every place 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 chicken nuggets.

Entertainment that keeps working

Colouring sheets keep a child busy 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 get lost or need 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 wait. 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 decent high chair and food that arrives quickly.
• Four to seven: colouring, sticking, and short games that don't involve reading. Memory and spot-the-difference fall in this group.
• Seven to eleven: this is the age where a child can start entertaining themselves. 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 specially for kids.

The age most places aim for is four to seven, while it's actually the group above that 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 only halfway, and that's when the restlessness begins.

What you don't need to do

A play corner is the solution most often thought of and the one that pays off least often. It costs space you need on a busy evening, it has to be kept clean, and it pulls children away from the table just as the food arrives. Only do it if you genuinely have the space to spare.

What your staff should 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 who's 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 who shows up with a cloth removes the awkwardness. Waiting to be asked confirms it.
• Don't ask if everything's alright 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 off track, 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. That sets the tone right away.
2. Twenty minutes after ordering, when the food still hasn't arrived and the children have nothing to do. This is the longest and heaviest moment.
3. After the main course, when the parents still want coffee and the children are done. This is where a place 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 on their own.

Show it before they walk in

Parents check your Google profile before booking. Make sure there's a photo showing a family at a 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 made in the place itself.

More on how this plays out for a restaurant is on the restaurant page; what it costs is at the prices.