When my husband and I debate whether to go out or not to a restaurant the question always arise, what do we need to bring.  Most restaurants provide customers with some sort of high chair, but in my experiences, they are always in poor filthy condition and are not very comfortable. Personally, sometimes it is better to bring your own gear with you so you and your baby can be comfortable while eating out.  Hear are some ideas of items to make the experience great for everyone.

Portable Booster

Portable boosters are great in the fact that they can fit universally on any restaurant chair and most of them are so compact that you can fit them underneath a stroller or some come with a carrying handle.

Other Accessories to Bring

Travel Placement: Great to put on top of the table and can fit very easily into a diaper bag. With one of these you do not have to worry about your baby’s food touching the table. Also these are usually great because they are made from no slip material that will help keep the plates on the table.

Summer Infant Tiny Diner

Toys, Toys & More Toys: While most babies and toddlers can now navigate their parents smart phones better than their parents themselves, sometimes you just don’t want to have your toddler use your phone all of the time as a “toy”.  Some great things to bring with you are a quiet time activity book or highchair toy.

Bathroom Breaks: If you are potty training your child a portable potty seat is a good idea to slip into your bag so your little one can take a potty break during the meal.

Snacks and Drinks: Crackers can be your savior when dining in a restaurant waiting for your food.  I usually try to wait to bust out the cracker card until I really need to use it.  Also, most restaurants do not have proper cups for kids to drink out of, and if they do have ones with straws, the cups are so flimsy that they usually end up spilling all over the place.  A great solution to this is take and toss straw cups.  I love these, they are inexpensive so if you leave it behind it is not a big deal, they hardly leak and most importantly they are easy for little hands to use.