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Kids meals at an older age

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jenisautistic
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07 Mar 2015, 7:19 pm

How late did you/ your child get a kids meals until?

What do you think the policy on kids menus should be?

Usually I get the kids no problem but in certain places like pizza and brew and I can't get it and they tell me the age which is usually 10 or under in these fancy resteraunts.

Do you think if I told him they would accommodate me too?

Do you think my doctor would write a note about this or something?

Do you think teens/Adults should be able to eat kids menus and at a higher price or even at the same price?

If you ran a restaurant what age would you stop kids menus for regular kids and then developmentally disabled kids/ adults?

In friendlys once I asked the manger if I could get kid meals at the time I was 15. I know the Omer of my local I hop so I get kids meals there too.
Today I was in my local uno Chicago grill and I got a kids meal. We had an unrelated problem with the waitress so we decide to get the manager I asked the manager it was okay if I was eating my kids meal at this age I told Her I'm developmentally disabled and actually before that I told her I wanted to have a kids meal birthday party and I asked her if they accommodate developmentally disabled kids who want to have the kids birthday party at an older age. Anyway she was very nice and accommodating but even give me a second kids menu because I told him I like keeping kids and use the drawing. I told her that like other kids with special needs I have sort of digestive issues with food and pickyness to eating and she said it's perfectly fine if I order off the kids menu.


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InThisTogether
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07 Mar 2015, 7:29 pm

What is the reason you want the kids meal? Usually there is a similar choice available on the adult menu. If you just want the kids menu to draw on, they will give you one even if you order and adult meal. My son gets a kids menu and then orders an adult meal, and no one has ever said he couldn't.


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ASDMommyASDKid
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07 Mar 2015, 7:34 pm

jenisautistic wrote:
How late did you/ your child get a kids meals until?

What do you think the policy on kids menus should be?

Usually I get the kids no problem but in certain places like pizza and brew and I can't get it and they tell me the age which is usually 10 or under in these fancy resteraunts.

Do you think if I told him they would accommodate me too?

Do you think my doctor would write a note about this or something?

Do you think teens/Adults should be able to eat kids menus and at a higher price or even at the same price?

If you ran a restaurant what age would you stop kids menus for regular kids and then developmentally disabled kids/ adults?

In friendlys once I asked the manger if I could get kid meals at the time I was 15. I know the Omer of my local I hop so I get kids meals there too.
Today I was in my local uno Chicago grill and I got a kids meal. We had an unrelated problem with the waitress so we decide to get the manager I asked the manager it was okay if I was eating my kids meal at this age I told Her I'm developmentally disabled and actually before that I told her I wanted to have a kids meal birthday party and I asked her if they accommodate developmentally disabled kids who want to have the kids birthday party at an older age. Anyway she was very nice and accommodating but even give me a second kids menu because I told him I like keeping kids and use the drawing. I told her that like other kids with special needs I have sort of digestive issues with food and pickyness to eating and she said it's perfectly fine if I order off the kids menu.


Our son is a picky eater and we are probably going to run into this problem pretty soon. Luckily, my son looks young for his age, so I am hoping we will be able to get kids' meals for him for at least two more years. If not, it will limit the restaurants we will be able to go to. We like to go to restaurants that do not necessarily have hamburgers, pizza or grilled cheese on the regular menu, so for us it is not a matter of just paying more for a full-size meal.

I don't see anything wrong with picky adult or older children eating off the kids' menu , though I understand that restaurants would rather sell the higher priced meals.



InThisTogether
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07 Mar 2015, 7:47 pm

ASDMommyASDKid wrote:
We like to go to restaurants that do not necessarily have hamburgers, pizza or grilled cheese on the regular menu, so for us it is not a matter of just paying more for a full-size meal.


LOL! I guess perhaps we don't go to very fancy restaurants! :wink: The truth is, we will only go to places that have something my daughter will eat (she's the picky one), and sometimes what that means is that she eats something from the appetizer menu while the rest of us eat dinner. Before we go to any new restaurant, she looks at the menu to make sure she will be able to order something. If not, we pick a different place.


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jenisautistic
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07 Mar 2015, 7:50 pm

InThisTogether wrote:
What is the reason you want the kids meal? Usually there is a similar choice available on the adult menu. If you just want the kids menu to draw on, they will give you one even if you order and adult meal. My son gets a kids menu and then orders an adult meal, and no one has ever said he couldn't.


It's not just that the drawing is about having stuff that is not on the adult menu or having a smaller portion or maybe different ingredients? Like hurricane grill the boneless wings being not spicy. Also I like to collect kids cups. And toys/ special kids idems.


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InThisTogether
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07 Mar 2015, 7:59 pm

jenisautistic wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
What is the reason you want the kids meal? Usually there is a similar choice available on the adult menu. If you just want the kids menu to draw on, they will give you one even if you order and adult meal. My son gets a kids menu and then orders an adult meal, and no one has ever said he couldn't.


It's not just that the drawing is about having stuff that is not on the adult menu or having a smaller portion or maybe different ingredients? Like hurricane grill the boneless wings being not spicy. Also I like to collect kids cups. And toys/ special kids idems.


Here are some other ideas:

They will give you a kids cup without ordering a kids meal (at least the places we go to will.)

Portion-wise, you could just eat what you want and then ask to take the rest home.

I wonder if at a place like Hurricane Grill, you could order an adult meal and ask them to substitute the boneless wings they have for kids, and just explain the other ones are too spicy. Also, for wings, my daughter usually gets the ones that are called "butter and garlic" or "garlic and Parmesan." They are not very spicy at all.

Most restaurants that I know of that have kids toys don't seem to care how old the person is who is ordering.

Or, if the people you are dining with don't mind, you can do as our family does and only go to restaurants that meet your needs. One way to look at it is that you are the customer; if they are not willing/able to meet your needs, do you really want to give them your money? Going out to dinner should be a pleasant experience for everyone at the table, so finding a place that everyone will enjoy is important. Although at one point or another someone will usually have to compromise, which is a good skill to have, too.


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jenisautistic
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07 Mar 2015, 8:03 pm

InThisTogether wrote:
jenisautistic wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
What is the reason you want the kids meal? Usually there is a similar choice available on the adult menu. If you just want the kids menu to draw on, they will give you one even if you order and adult meal. My son gets a kids menu and then orders an adult meal, and no one has ever said he couldn't.


It's not just that the drawing is about having stuff that is not on the adult menu or having a smaller portion or maybe different ingredients? Like hurricane grill the boneless wings being not spicy. Also I like to collect kids cups. And toys/ special kids idems.


Here are some other ideas:

They will give you a kids cup without ordering a kids meal (at least the places we go to will.)

Portion-wise, you could just eat what you want and then ask to take the rest home.

I wonder if at a place like Hurricane Grill, you could order an adult meal and ask them to substitute the boneless wings they have for kids, and just explain the other ones are too spicy. Also, for wings, my daughter usually gets the ones that are called "butter and garlic" or "garlic and Parmesan." They are not very spicy at all.

Most restaurants that I know of that have kids toys don't seem to care how old the person is who is ordering.

Or, if the people you are dining with don't mind, you can do as our family does and only go to restaurants that meet your needs. One way to look at it is that you are the customer; if they are not willing/able to meet your needs, do you really want to give them your money? Going out to dinner should be a pleasant experience for everyone at the table, so finding a place that everyone will enjoy is important. Although at one point or another someone will usually have to compromise, which is a good skill to have, too.


Why can't I just order a kids meal? I'm just curious although I do like your suggestions.

My family dose not really mind me getting kids meals is it still ok to ask for one?


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Your Aspie score: 192 of 200 Your neurotypical (non-autistic) score: 9 of 200 You are very likely an Aspie PDD assessment score= 172 (severe PDD)
Autism= Awesome, unique ,Special, talented, Intelligent, Smart and Mysterious


InThisTogether
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07 Mar 2015, 8:09 pm

I think it is perfectly OK to ask for one. You just have to realize that restaurants have the right to set their own policies and some may not let you have one. But there is no harm in asking. If they say no, I think it would also be OK to ask them what they would recommend from the adult menu if it is due to a food preference thing. Maybe they can suggest something that you might like.


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ASDMommyASDKid
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07 Mar 2015, 8:43 pm

InThisTogether wrote:
ASDMommyASDKid wrote:
We like to go to restaurants that do not necessarily have hamburgers, pizza or grilled cheese on the regular menu, so for us it is not a matter of just paying more for a full-size meal.


LOL! I guess perhaps we don't go to very fancy restaurants! :wink: The truth is, we will only go to places that have something my daughter will eat (she's the picky one), and sometimes what that means is that she eats something from the appetizer menu while the rest of us eat dinner. Before we go to any new restaurant, she looks at the menu to make sure she will be able to order something. If not, we pick a different place.


LOL it is not that we go to fancy places. We like to go to restaurants with ethnic cuisine, much of which is spicy. Even if it is not spicy, it is too exotic for my son's limited choices. They are not fancy places, though. We could not take him to such a place if we wanted to. They just don't usually have American food on the menu unless they have a kids' menu.

Edited to add:My son will not eat any old thing on the kids' menu, either. So we always check the kids' menu online first. He has sensory and other issues with many common kids foods, so really they have to have pizza, a hamburger or pizza. No chicken tenders---no mac and cheese---none of that.



Last edited by ASDMommyASDKid on 07 Mar 2015, 8:56 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ASDMommyASDKid
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07 Mar 2015, 8:50 pm

jenisautistic wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
jenisautistic wrote:
InThisTogether wrote:
What is the reason you want the kids meal? Usually there is a similar choice available on the adult menu. If you just want the kids menu to draw on, they will give you one even if you order and adult meal. My son gets a kids menu and then orders an adult meal, and no one has ever said he couldn't.


It's not just that the drawing is about having stuff that is not on the adult menu or having a smaller portion or maybe different ingredients? Like hurricane grill the boneless wings being not spicy. Also I like to collect kids cups. And toys/ special kids idems.


Here are some other ideas:

They will give you a kids cup without ordering a kids meal (at least the places we go to will.)

Portion-wise, you could just eat what you want and then ask to take the rest home.

I wonder if at a place like Hurricane Grill, you could order an adult meal and ask them to substitute the boneless wings they have for kids, and just explain the other ones are too spicy. Also, for wings, my daughter usually gets the ones that are called "butter and garlic" or "garlic and Parmesan." They are not very spicy at all.

Most restaurants that I know of that have kids toys don't seem to care how old the person is who is ordering.

Or, if the people you are dining with don't mind, you can do as our family does and only go to restaurants that meet your needs. One way to look at it is that you are the customer; if they are not willing/able to meet your needs, do you really want to give them your money? Going out to dinner should be a pleasant experience for everyone at the table, so finding a place that everyone will enjoy is important. Although at one point or another someone will usually have to compromise, which is a good skill to have, too.


Why can't I just order a kids meal? I'm just curious although I do like your suggestions.

My family dose not really mind me getting kids meals is it still ok to ask for one?



Usually, it is because they make more money on the adult items. The adult meals are more expensive and they can make more money per table if they limit who gets a kids' meal. Also, if they care a lot about limiting costs they save money on not giving you the crayons and cups and special menus.

That does not mean they won't make exceptions, but those are the reasons they have these rules. They are willing to make less money on the kids' meals to lure in the whole family to eat there, and make more money on the adults.

That said, it does not hurt to ask, as long as you are prepared for them to say "no" and that you have a back-up plan just in case they do say no.



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07 Mar 2015, 9:07 pm

I have two teenage daughters. Both were ordering kids meals until they were about 14 years old. Why? First, they preferred having chicken fingers and french fries. Second, they were both fairly petite and did not need a lot to eat. Third, they loved having the "drawing stuff".



izzeme
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09 Mar 2015, 4:42 am

the only problem i have with those is portion size; but if i ask for a double kids meal, they usually oblige (albeit with a strange look).

nowadays, i have a developed palette and eat the normal food on the menu, so i only order kids meals at mcdonalds, as a small snack "Don't forget the toy!"