10 tips to take a Fussy Eater out to Restaurants
                     Call: 0421 843 038 for your FREE 15 minute 
assessment
www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038
10 tips to take a Fussy Eater out to Restaurants
"No, you cannot have chips again, it is not healthy. Why don't you choose something 
else from the menu? We are at a restaurant, try something new. All right, enough, 
we will just order some chips! Just sit down for a minute!"
Embrace eating out
Going out to a restaurant with children, even if they are fussy eaters, should not be 
a chore or a stressful event. What if you chose to embrace eating out and reap the 
benefits, including educational ones, in the long term? In restaurants families will: 
1. Enjoy a moment eating in a different setting (including unfamiliar surroundings)
2. Strengthen family bond
3. Engage in conversation 
4. Learn to adjust behaviour in public spaces
5. Be exposed to and eventually taste different foods
6. Feel special
Call: 0421 843 038 for your FREE 15 minute assessment
www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038
If you children are young and not too entrenched 
in their eating 
1.  Choose your restaurant wisely. Kristy of Kids out for dinner has been 
listing restaurants that are children friendly here. 
2.  Spell your expectations clearly before going out: we will go to this 
restaurant...I expect that you will love it/sit well/behave. It's always easier if 
your kids know what is happening next.
3.  Be reassuring to the anxious children: "the food is delicious I hear", "I will 
order something you will love".
4.  Time the meal so children are rested and hungry when food arrives, but 
not exhausted, famished and hysterical. 
5.  Bring pencils and paper for before and after meal, a patience building 
exercise.
www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038
If you children are young and not too entrenched 
in their eating 
6. Select from the menu: small children have simply no knowledge about 
food. Choose a combination of liked and less known food. For example, your 
child likes rice, choose a risotto. These days, children's menus are evolving 
away from the cheap and nasty, but you may also order an adult dish to 
share between children.
7. Give limited choice to children: you can have this "risotto or this pasta" 
still enables them to have a say but you are providing structure. 
8. Organise a monthly visit to a surprise restaurant, where everyone picks a 
dish to share and takes turn to taste. Then rate your dishes and your 
restaurants. A family I worked with did this successfully here.
www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038
If your child is an extreme fussy eater and all of the above 
appears impossible. 
9. Try a buffet type of restaurant where kids can assemble foods that they 
are comfortable with. Alternatively order something they can work with, for 
example, your child only eats white rice: order Cantonese rice and ask your 
child to do the sorting out. It challenges and exposes your child without 
putting pressure to eat the offending foods.
10. Choose a restaurant where children can be exposed to foods, but not 
have to eat them. Open kitchens, bar sitting can provide children an 
opportunity to watch chefs and cooks put together beautiful dishes. 
Interactive type of restaurants: Korean barbecue, Japanese Teppanyaki or 
this restaurant where kids can make their own pizza, somehow involve 
customers in choosing their food with their senses.
www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038
About Us
Issues arising around eating are numerous and 
may trigger unwarranted stress. Difficulties 
with fussy eating, confusion around nutrition, 
demonisation of food and goal settings on size 
and health, can further impair parents' ability 
to know what to do and how to do it. Fussy 
Eater Solutions' philosophy is to be inclusive of 
your eating culture, personal beliefs, and 
financial situation. We work together, either 
through workshops or individual appointments, 
to help children find pleasure, confidence, and 
mindfulness in eating. 
www.fussyeater.com.au Call: 0421 843 038
Contact us
6 Riddell Parade, Elsternwick 3185, Victoria, 
Australia
0421 843 038
[email protected]
www.fussyeater.com.au