# Should restaurants get rid of the kids' menu? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2025, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279 "2025-06-30T00:56:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/141 "2025-07-03T19:38:36Z")
See I’d skip the hasbrowns and get at least a second egg for the protein. I’d argue you don’t need that many carbs unless you’re baling hay. An egg is what, 70 calories? Give me three eggs and some plain yogurt and I’m good to go. Hell, have that slice of toast, too. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [July 3, 2025, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/142 "2025-07-03T19:44:26Z")
According to [_Bringing Up Bebe_](https://www.amazon.com/Bringing-Up-B%C3%A9b%C3%A9-Discovers-Parenting/dp/0143122967), French children are introduced to new foods routinely. The author said it was part of the elementary school curriculum for her children, different foods were served to the children for lunch every day, and they were expected to eat them. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/143 "2025-07-04T02:52:42Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > How is that you bail out a boat by throwing buckets of water overboard, but when a bank needs a bailout, the government throws buckets of cash _into_ the bank. The same reason you park on a driveway and drive on a parkway, I guess. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > And why can’t _I_ get one of those bailout thingies? You’re not rich enough. None of us here are. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2025, 4:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/144 "2025-07-04T04:17:57Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Or jumping out of an airplane Can’t believe I forgot that one! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 5, 2025, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/145 "2025-07-05T05:14:28Z")
I’ve also read that some French schools served children wine instead of milk as a beverage. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/146 "2025-07-06T15:24:56Z")
> [@Spice\_Weasel](#): > > I actually got him to try a popsicle the other day. He licked it twice and then discarded it, saying, “I liked it only a little bit.” MAJOR progress. My son isn’t a picky eater at all (and is not neurodiverse) but one of the ideas we introduced early was “did you like it enough to eat it if you had to, to be polite?” The presented scenario is at a grandparents house, where it’s the only thing they cooked, you are hungry, and we don’t really have access to alternatives. We were able to identify a bunch of foods that fit that category: green beans, a particular preparation of chicken my in-laws like, turnips, etc. We don’t make him eat these at home, but expect him to eat enough not be hungry after and to be polite (and allow for extra buttered bread…!) and that’s worked out very well. For things that absolutely don’t even fit that category, we will ask for (or bring) an alternative because we know he’s truthful in his dislike of it. I’m the picky eater in this family, and it will extend to suddenly not being able to force myself to take another bite of something I typically love sometimes. I love asparagus, but some days the thought of eating it makes my stomach heave, or I’ll be eating it and from one bite to the next I just can’t stomach more. It’ll happen with all kinds of foods, and I cannot predict it. I’ll be fine with eating whatever again the next day or week, but in that moment, there’s a sudden mental wall I can’t overcome. I’ll often find all food objectionable; like, I’m hungry, but I don’t want to taste _anything at all_, I just want to not be hungry. My husband does most of the cooking and he’ll just make whatever he wants in those moments, and I often can eat it anyway. I’m also incredibly sensitive to texture and cannot make myself even taste certain foods even if they look or smell good. Honestly, it sucks, but it did improve a lot with age and I can usually find something on any menu I’m fine with (and don’t resort to kid menu items…though I did as a kid). My husband and a couple of my friends are really good about suggesting things to make me more adventurous. Most of the time I at least end up liking things enough for the “I can eat it to be polite” level. ---
**Author:** ![BrickBat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ac91a4/32.png) [@BrickBat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrickBat)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2025, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279/147 "2025-07-06T17:19:39Z")
> [@MW\_Degen\_Gamblr](#): > > American kids don’t enjoy vegetables because their mamas can’t cook! That was certainly the case for me. She couldn’t really cook, nor could her own mother: it was all just about getting something on the table for a half dozen people ( or more ) pronto. Everything was a gloppy overcooked mess. Vegetables were almost grey by the time she got done with them. Same for any meat. As a youngster I marveled at how, when I was invited over friend’s houses for dinner, how I ate with much gusto the same things that repulsed me at home. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-restaurants-get-rid-of-the-kids-menu/1020279.md?page=7)