A kids' table that actually works

A kids' table usually fails for the same three reasons, in nearly every house that has ever set one up.

Keep it in the same room, not the next one

A kids' table set up out of sight of the adults stops being a table and starts being a holding pen. Same room, in view, is the single change that fixes the most complaints.

Give them a job before the food arrives

There is always a gap between being seated and being served. A name card to colour, a placemat to finish, one small task — anything that fills the gap stops it filling itself with something worse.

Serve the kids' table first, not last

Adults can tolerate a fifteen-minute wait for warm food. A six-year-old cannot, and a plate that went cold while the grown-ups were served first is the actual reason the meal ends in a complaint.

Questions people ask

What age should a child move from the kids' table to the main one?

There is no fixed age — some ten-year-olds prefer the kids' table for years, and some seven-year-olds ask to move up early. Let the child decide when they ask.

Should siblings of very different ages share one kids' table?

They can, if the task you hand out scales — a colouring sheet for the younger one, a word search for the older one, at the same table.

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