Should I bring my 5yo to dinner?

[critter944]

our Carnival TA set us up with all of the info for the kids dining program through Camp Carnival - they will take the kids to dinner (buffet dinner) from 6-7p and sit with them and supervise etc....if nothing else maybe this would be better on Formal Night and you and the hubby could have some alone time. My son (7) gets impatient and ancy since the dining room does take longer - he would rather eat quick buffet food and get back to the play!!!

[rosiej]

Fun thread! We leave on the Elation on Saturday and my brain is overheating from the same question. I have no problem bringing our 9 yo DD, but our 3 yo DS is, well, a 3 yo little BOY :D . Mommy's of 3 yo little boys can probably relate. I like the psp idea, maybe big sis will have to lend lil bro her gameboy for dinner time :rolleyes: . My plan at the moment is try dining together once, and see how it goes (we do have an early seating) and take it from there. He might be so blown away by all the interesting surroundings and food, that he makes it through the whole dinner without crawling under a table. The gameboy will be standing by though, along with some crayons and paper, and maybe even a little car or two. Oh, and the Camp Carnival dining program sounds really good as well. Love my little guy, but I have to remember, he's still a little boy :) , even in his little suit and tie.

 

And for those who have had to witness children crawling around a restaurant :eek:, cruise ship or elsewhere, while the parents ACT oblivious, shame on those parents. I would have been asking for the to-go box WAY before that point. Kids WILL be kids, but parents need to be parents too, no matter how hungry they are! I can't enjoy my dinner if my children are acting like hoodlums, and neither can anyone else.

[Loves_Dogs]

It definitely depends on the child. My DD (who is now 27) at 5 years old would have been fine sitting through a big formal dinner. My son at 5 years (he is now 17 and is the BEST cruising/dive Buddy I could ask for) would NEVER have made it through a formal dinner. And I would have been so stressed out worrying about him disturbing everyone around us. No doubt, if I had taken him at that age, after we arrived back home I just KNOW I would logon to CC and be reading some negative 'bad behavior kids dont belong in the dining room' thread with our names written all over it!

[lilbratt17]

My DD has already been on 2 cruises and she is 3 y/o. We go on her 3rd in two weeks. Here she is with one of the waiters (not ours) on our last cruise in Feb. He had bought her that stuffed doggie. She goes to dinner with us every night. On the first cruise we were late and this one early. She did great at either sitting.

 

[abitaturbodog]

Yes! Bring your child to dinner with you and try to stay away from the kiddie menu too!

 

It's great to expose children to nice restaurants and different foods. At 5, she's old enough to be using her manners at the table. (Start practicing at home before you go.)

 

Plus, she'll love the show that the waiters put on every night. They usually grab the little ones to dance with!

[LemurCat]

Of course. How else do you expect kids to learn about social ettiquette and proper manners?

 

But, don't be that parent who won't take their kid out of the room if they've had enough, if you know what I mean. ;)