Becoming a kid-friendly restaurant: what parents actually 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 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 actually judge

• Is there something to do while waiting, and does it still work after ten minutes?
• Can the kids' food arrive before the parents'?
• Is there room for a pram without half the venue needing to shuffle aside?
• Is there a relaxed reaction if something gets knocked over?
• Are there other families around, or are you the only ones among couples who clearly came for some 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 venue has one, and it's virtually 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 again, or get bored. What works longer is something with variety built in.

Games on the table via a QR code have two advantages here. There's nothing to lose or tidy away, 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 at each age

Kid-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 into this category.
• Seven to eleven: this is the age where a child can start entertaining themselves. Puzzles, quizzes, and games against a sibling 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 with works better than something special just for kids.

Most venues aim at the four to seven age group, while it's actually the group above 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 kids' food go out ten minutes before the parents'. Children eat faster and finish sooner; if everyone starts at the same time, the kids finish while the parents are only halfway, 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 that pays off least often. It takes up space you need on a busy night, it has to be kept clean, and it draws kids away from the table right when the food arrives. Only do it if you genuinely have the space to spare.

What your staff need to know

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

• Address the child, not just the parent. A child who's allowed to order for themselves sits differently at the table than one who's talked about.
• Respond to spilt food before the parent apologises. Someone who turns up with a cloth themselves takes away the awkwardness. Someone who waits 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. That sets the tone straight away.
2. Twenty minutes after ordering, when the food hasn't arrived yet and the kids have nothing to do. This is the longest and heaviest moment.
3. After the main course, when the parents still want coffee and the kids are done. This is where a venue loses the extra order it would otherwise have had.

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