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 with yes gets the table.

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

What parents actually judge

• Is there something to do while waiting, and does it still hold up after ten minutes?
• Can the kids' food arrive before the parents' food?
• Is there room for a pram without half the venue having to shift aside?
• Is the reaction relaxed if something gets knocked over?
• Are there other families around, or are you the only ones among couples clearly looking for peace and quiet?

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

The kids' menu is the least important part

Almost every venue has one, and it's pretty much 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 fish and chips.

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 lasts longer is something with variety built in.

Table games via a QR code have two advantages here. Nothing can get 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 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 truly works. What you can offer is a proper high chair and food that comes quickly.
• Four to seven: colouring, sticking, and short games that don't involve reading. Memory and spot-the-difference fall into 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 up: they want to be treated like the rest of the table. A game the whole family joins in on works better than something specially for children.

The age group most venues aim for is four to seven, while the group above that actually stays seated longest and stands out most when things go wrong.

Timing in the kitchen

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

What you don't need to do

A play corner is the solution people think of most often and that works out least often. It takes up space you need on a busy evening, it has to be kept clean, and it pulls children 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:

• 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 starts apologising. Showing up with a cloth yourself takes away the awkwardness. Waiting to be asked confirms it.
• Don't ask if everything's to their liking the moment a child starts 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's almost always at one of these three points:

1. At arrival, when it turns out there's no high chair or the table's too cramped. The tone is set right away.
2. Twenty minutes after ordering, when the food still hasn't arrived and the kids have nothing to do. This is the longest and toughest 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 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 the table, and state literally in the description that children are welcome and what's available for them. That brings in more bookings than a change to the venue itself.

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