Restaurant Menu Translates Kids' Common Phrases Into Meals So Parents Know What To Order Them

Taking your kids out for dinner when they’re not in a good mood can be a frustrating experience.

Asking them what they want to eat can get tricky, when they simply respond: “I don’t know” or even worse: “I don’t care”.

So a restaurant in America decided to make mealtimes easier for parents by translating common phrases said by kids into dishes.

If a child says: “I’m not hungry”, you should order them a basket of chicken tenders, according to Fager’s Island restaurant in Ocean City, Maryland, US.

And if you get faced with: “I don’t want that”, just order them the fries.

Seems pretty simple.

A photo of the menu was shared on Reddit on Monday 24 July with the caption: “This menu designer understands kids.”

Before You Go

Eating Out With A Toddler

Never wake the sleeping giant(01 of05)

We’ve all done it – they fall asleep in the car three minutes before you get there and because you're not keen to to sit in a car park in silence for an hour, you tell yourself they’ve woken up (really they just coughed mid-nap), drag them out of the car, bleary-eyed, and plonk them in the middle of a busy café.

This is child cruelty – as is arriving an hour past their usual lunchtime. We combined both of these acts of cruelty. Never. Again. (credit:Stefan Kunz via Getty Images)

Clear the decks(02 of05)

Possession is nine tenths of the law in Toddlersville so allow your children to grab that steak knife for a mere nanosecond and as far as they're concerned it’s now theirs.

Wrestling it away can be as dangerous as wrestling a crocodile – all those serrated teeth. Instead CLEAR THE TABLE OF EVERYTHING before you sit down. (credit:abitofSAS photography www.abitofsas.com via Getty Images)

Bring the entire contents of your house(03 of05)

When I was heavily pregnant we went out for dinner with my mother-in-law, Sue. At the next table a toddler was watching videos on his Dad’s iPhone.

“That’s awful, isn’t it? Kids today can’t even sit through a meal without staring at a screen,” said Sue.

“I know!” I said. And I meant it. Then my son was born.

To hell with that – bring every electrical appliance from your house, including your 40in plasma, if you have one. Better still, find a pub with a massive telly on.

Distraction, distraction, distraction! (credit:Oscar Bjarnason via Getty Images)

Remember all parents go through this(04 of05)

One of the hardest things about dealing with the epic tantrum was doing it in front of the chilled-out family next to us, whose little girl just sat there smiling, silently eating her food properly with a fork.

As I carried my flailing child past them, I stopped and said, “Would you like to swap children by any chance?” For a terrible moment they just stared at us.

Then they laughed and the dad said: “Ha, believe me – we've got off very lightly today. You should have seen this one last week.”

Take heed: You’re not alone. (credit:Dimitri Otis via Getty Images)

Seek anonymity(05 of05)

Many parents believe non-parents should just suck it up when there’s a noisy toddler in the restaurant. But as someone who finds controlling a toddler about as easy as juggling jelly, I’d prefer to avoid the added stress of eyes burning the back of my neck.

My advice: Think of the last place on earth you would want to eat if you didn’t have kids (the kind where the menus have puzzles on the back and you get a balloon when you arrive), and eat there.

Better still – eat at home. (credit:PhotoAlto/Anne-Sophie Bost via Getty Images)