Eating out with a baby or toddler

Before you go

Eating out is a chance for your child to see new foods and watch you eat. It also takes skills that come with practice, so the AAP suggests starting with family-friendly places, going early before the rush, and ordering everything at once so the wait is short.

Bring what you’d need at home: a bib, your child’s cup, a soft spoon, and a small toy or book. The AAP says it’s fine to bring some food for babies who aren’t yet eating table food, or for a toddler who can’t manage a long wait.

When you sit down, move knives, hot drinks, candles and the salt and sugar out of reach.

Ordering for a baby

Your baby doesn’t need a meal of their own. Many restaurant dishes can work if you choose plain parts and take your baby’s share before anything salty goes on.

• Ask for plain sides. Steamed or boiled vegetables, a plain baked potato or sweet potato, plain rice or pasta, and plain cooked meat or fish. The FDA suggests asking for food to be made without added salt, with sauces and dressings on the side.
• Share from your plate before you season it. Take your baby’s portion first, then add salt or sauce to your own.
• Skip the salty extras: fries with added salt, chips (crisps), crackers, bacon, sausages and gravy. The NHS lists these and takeaways among salty foods to avoid for babies.
• No honey before 12 months, including honey glazes, dressings and desserts (NHS).
• Fully cooked food only. Ask for burgers well done and eggs with the yolk and white firm. The CDC lists raw or undercooked meat, eggs, fish and shellfish, including sushi and ceviche, as riskier choices for children under 5.
• Check the temperature. Restaurant food can be very hot. Stir it, let it cool, and test it before offering it.

Salt in restaurant food

Babies can’t handle much salt because their kidneys are still developing. The NHS says babies under 1 need less than 1 g of salt a day and children aged 1 to 3 no more than 2 g. It also points out that takeaways and restaurant and café meals are common sources of salt, and the FDA says over 70% of the sodium people eat comes from packaged and prepared foods, not the salt shaker.

The AAP says to limit processed foods made for adults, because they often have more salt. An occasional restaurant meal is fine. Choosing plain sides and keeping sauces to a minimum keeps your child’s share low. For daily amounts and swaps, see salt and sugar for babies.

Kids’ menus

The AAP notes that kids’ menus tend to offer a narrow range of foods: the most popular orders for under-6s in one survey were fries, chicken nuggets, pizza, hamburgers and ice cream. Its suggestions:

• swap fries for a vegetable or fruit side
• order milk or water instead of soda or juice drinks
• let your child taste foods from your plate
• share an adult main, or ask for a smaller portion of one, or order a starter as a main
• let your child eat as much as they’re hungry for, and take the rest home

For toddlers, desserts and sweet drinks are best skipped: US and UK advice is to avoid added sugar up to age 4 (see salt and sugar for babies).

Choking-safe cutting at the table

Cut your child’s food once it arrives, even if it looks small. The CDC lists these as choking hazards to prepare safely:

• Grapes, cherry tomatoes and other small round foods: quarter them lengthwise. Squash blueberries flat. See grapes.
• Hot dogs and sausages: skip them under 1. For toddlers, cut them lengthwise into thin strips, then into short pieces, never round coins. See hot dogs.
• Meat: shred it or cut it into small, tender pieces. Avoid tough chunks.
• Cheese: thin strips or small pieces, not chunks.
• No whole or chopped nuts, popcorn, hard candy, or hard raw vegetables like carrot sticks. See nuts.
• Sizes: soft finger-sized pieces for a younger baby, or pieces no bigger than about 1 cm (just under ½ inch) once they’re picking up small bits. See safe food sizes and shapes.

Keep your child sitting up in a high chair or booster seat while they eat, and stay with them. The CDC says not to let children eat while walking, crawling or lying down, or in a car or stroller.

Allergen questions to ask staff

If your child has a food allergy, FARE and the AAAAI suggest:

• Check the menu online and call ahead. Ask to speak to a manager, and choose a quieter time.
• Tell staff before you order. Name the allergen, and ask that the message reaches the kitchen. A written “chef card” listing the allergens helps.
• Ask what’s in the dish and how it’s made. Ask about shared fryers, grills and utensils. The AAAAI notes that fries may be cooked in the same oil as seafood.
• Keep it simple. Plain dishes with clear ingredients are safer than mixed dishes and complex sauces. Desserts often hide allergens.
• Be careful with buffets, bakeries and ice cream shops, where cross-contact is more likely.
• If staff aren’t sure, don’t order it. It’s fine to leave and eat somewhere else.
• Carry two epinephrine auto-injectors and your child’s written allergy plan, if they’ve been prescribed one.

A restaurant meal isn’t a good place for a first taste of a top allergen. Introduce allergens at home first, on a day your baby is well, so you can watch them for a couple of hours afterward. See how to introduce allergens.

Packing food and keeping it cold

If you bring food for your baby:

• Use an insulated bag with at least two cold sources, such as two frozen gel packs, one above and one below the food (USDA FSIS).
• Pack only what your child will eat at that meal (USDA FSIS).
• Throw away any food left out at room temperature for more than 2 hours (1 hour if it’s hotter than 90°F / 32°C).
• Throw away food left in your child’s bowl. Saliva gets into it, and the NHS says never to save half-eaten portions.
• Restaurant leftovers you take home go in the fridge within 2 hours of serving.

For more on the 2-hour rule, see food safety at home.

In an emergency

If your child is choking (can’t cough, cry or breathe, or is turning blue), act straight away: shout for help, and have someone call 911. If you’re alone, call on speaker and start back blows straight away. Don’t leave your child to find a phone.shout for help and start back blows straight away, then chest thrusts for a baby under 1 or abdominal thrusts for a child over 1. If the blockage hasn’t cleared after one round of each, call 999 and keep going.shout for help, and have someone call your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia). If you’re alone, call on speaker and start back blows straight away. See gagging vs. choking for the steps.

If your child has signs of a severe allergic reaction, such as trouble breathing, wheezing, swelling of the lips, tongue or throat, or turns pale or floppy: give their epinephrine auto-injector first if they have one, then call 911.call 999.call your local emergency number (such as 112 in Europe or 000 in Australia). Keep them lying down, never standing or walking. Turn them on their side if they’re vomiting, and raise their head and shoulders a little if breathing is hard (NHS). See signs of anaphylaxis.

Where US and UK advice differs

• Allergen information. In the UK, restaurants and takeaways must tell you if any of 14 allergens are in a dish, verbally or in writing (GOV.UK). In the US, federal allergen labeling covers packaged foods, not restaurant meals; rules vary by state and city (AAAAI). Either way, ask.
• Food on the go. The NHS says food not kept cold should be eaten within 4 hours at most. US advice is 2 hours (1 hour above 90°F / 32°C). Following the US limit fits both.
• Nuts. The AAP says to keep nuts and other high-risk foods from children until at least age 4. The NHS says no whole nuts before age 5.
• Seasoning. The NHS’s baby recipes use mild herbs and spices from 6 months, and its general salt advice suggests them instead of salt. The AAP says fresh foods for babies should be cooked with no added salt or seasoning, so plain is the safest restaurant order for under-1s.