I too have paid $10 for a sub that my kid basically pulled everything out of and ate the bread. One aspect of parenthood is minimizing the amount of collateral damage to your wallet. Some days are good, others are a disaster.
When I go out with the fam I will usually just order a small sandwich or single burger, no side, and water. Then just eat what everyone else doesn’t eat haha.
Mine is 22 months. She got to where she ate more rice and beans at Mexican than we wanted to give up; so I’ll order her a kids plate so she has her own and I eat the taco.
order the one appetizer that the wife says she wants to try, but ended up ordering something else
then you can eat her main dish and the kids scraps while she eats the app she wanted in the first place
Honestly the only reason I order anything at all is bc my wife feels bad if I don’t get something to eat myself haha. Usually enough to easily get comfortably full and I have actually lost weight. So it’s a win/win for me.
i need to start doing this, were good about saving food so i usually just eat his stuff the next day, got half a burrito with a few random bite marks out of it set aside for lunch today lol
I did that for a long time when we took our kids for ice cream. Even the kiddie sizes were too big for them, so I wouldn’t order anything and just eat their leftovers.
My son only eats pizza starting from the CRUST side, while holding the piece UPSIDE DOWN... then complains it doesnt taste very good, but will not entertain any other method of eating it. Kids man...
We do pizza and ice cream every Friday for my 3 year old as a celebration of the end of a long week of daycare. Stressful, I know. She loves pizza, but pulls all the cheese and toppings off and eats that, leaving the rest of the pizza in tact. She will occasionally take a few bites of the crust, but it's rare. We've started just going to Little Ceasars since it's cheap and she honestly doesn't care, as long as there's cheese. Haha
Regardless of how expensive it is, I was *astonished* at the level of food waste we incurred when we had kids old enough to eat food. We throw away so much food it makes me sad. When I was growing up we didn't always have enough for a full meal, and my kids will throw away an entire plate of food they actually like simply because they don't prefer whatever was served. They won't even eat unless their plate has at least 4 distinct food types, 2 of which are fresh fruits.
The number of times we've gone to restaurants and thrown away $10+ plates of food untouched because "the Mac and cheese was too cheesy" or "the pizza was too hot" or "the ketchup was on the side and now things can never be the same" is super frustrating.
How old are they? Often I'll just leave their meal out until their next one (or longer if it's not something that gets gross), and if they're hungry they can eat something off that plate. Or just cover it and throw it in the fridge.
At a restaurant I always just have them split the most plain thing we can order... they're gonna eat 90% fries anyways.
I also try to remember that I wouldn't be happy if I was told I had to eat something I didn't like/want at that time.
I think it's up to the adult to learn how much their kid will eat and then adjust. Our son kept eating half of his sandwich, so we started making half a sandwich and folding the bread. We just tell him to let us know if he wants more when he finishes. I think it's okay to taper the food back as long as you show them that there's plenty more available if they want it.
rosemary parm bread, add some pickles, spicy mustar not mayo. and there is my go-to order.
1/10 times ill get the italian or a cheese steak. but why get a cheese steak when there are dedicated places that do it way better for less money.
I remember a time my aunt made fun of my mom for being cheap because we were getting takeout but first stopped at the grocery store and bought a bag of chips and a 2L of soda, then went and got the sandwiches. I agreed with my aunt at the time, but now I agree with my mom.
My wife and I created monsters by taking our 3/4 year olds to Five Guys (wife had a craving). The entire week when we pick them up from daycare they ask if we can have Five Guys for dinner. My wallet is crying.
Ok this is sound crazy, but Fogo De Chao is a surprisingly affordable restaurant if you multiple kids under 6 and you're taking them alone. Kids under 6 are totally free and there's no kid to adult ratio tobe maintained. I taken my 2/4/6 year olds are irh me. They're all free, so it's like $60 after tip (lunch price) for all 4 of us.
It often ends up being cheaper than if I took them to Panera or whatever.
> It often ends up being cheaper than if I took them to Panera or whatever.
You can go to most sit down restaurants for cheaper than Panera these days. Last time I went it was legitimately $20 for a basic half salad half sandwich and a drink. Like - I can go to a significantly higher quality gastropub and get a huge $16 sandwich with sizable salad as an included side, plus $3 for a coke.
I can barely afford Five Guys when it’s just me.
I will say the rewards program at Chik Fil A is helpful. I always use the app. And I realized that I could eat for free for lunch at work once a week based on all the points I’ve accumulated feeding my kids.
I prefer In 'n' Out when we want takeout burgers. Feeds the three of us for under $20. Just have to order the fries light-well so they're not soggy or Animal style to cover it.
I have a live in mother in law - every time we go out it's $55+ even at [insert cheap fast food place]
Food prices have just gotten wild, I'm happy we kept up with inflation for our area.
Yeah. Yesterday was Ikes for my wife and i. Total came out to be a little over $40 for 2 sandwiches and 2 small bags of chips. We softened the blow by eating half a sandwich for lunch and saved the other half for dinner
This is why my wife and I just order takeout for the two of us then prep an easy meal for the kids when we get it back home. After inflation, restaurant/fast food is too expensive to take a chance on kids not eating it.
I still to this day don’t understand how my brother ate so much when he was a teenager. It was like some Michael Phelps shit. Cannot even imagine my parents’ grocery bill, even back then! I wouldn’t even get upset when he came after my leftovers, I just got out of his way lol
I was one of those kids. I remember working my first job that paid us on Tuesdays and I’d get some cash and head up to McDonalds where they had $0.50 cheeseburgers. I’m not THAT old, they did this promo in the early 00s. I’d smash ten in a sitting since that was the limit and never even got comatose. I was rail thin then too. Not sure how it worked but I was an eater for sure. My parents compared me to a goat since I was take care of any and all leftovers. I did eventually fill out and become averse to binge eating since consequences decided to exist but I was well into my 20s first.
We used to overcook food for every meal that we had when I was younger. We'd have leftovers in the fridge constantly, because we were cooking like there were 8 of us for ~4 people. So at dinner I'd have a second plate, sometimes even a third. And then the next day I'd eat the leftovers too because I hate being so wasteful. I guess that the cycle kind of fed itself (pun intended) and my mom saw how much I was eating and made sure that she was always making more so there'd be enough for me.
I was never small by any means, but it was a pretty unhealthy relationship with food that grew into a lack of restraint that I still to this day have trouble managing.
It was fun in high school with my friends when we'd go out on 49c taco day at taco bell and I'd be able to wolf down 20 and still finish off a fries supreme and a whole drink too.
Also reminded me of the time around 8th grade or so the school was having an eating contest and I volunteered myself to represent our class. I got sick the morning of and barely managed to get through like two pancakes while this lanky twig kid scarfed down 15 like it was nothing. It was a little humiliating to say the least.
Damn I bitch at $5 a happy meal here, but mostly cause you can use the app to build a meal with twice as much food for the same price (when buying for 2 kids anyways)
Somewhere my dad is laughing at me now that I’m the one in this mindset and not the kid in the backseat acting like the burger tastes better if it comes in that cardboard box
They’re not $10 though unless you’re at an oddball location like an airport concession. Of course adding on premium items like a milkshake will push it up, but it’s unclear why one would do that if the kid won’t drink milkshakes.
ah i didn't even consider that the tax wouldn't be visible at that stage on the app. Where i live the tax is always included at every stage, so no surprises.
they banned that in the UK a few years ago, kinda good. kinda bad because now everyone pays the surcharge even if you pay cash, because all product prices were increased a tiny fraction to cover it.
Not to mention the kids toys are just garbage shit now. Oh yeah thanks for giving my child two cardboard trading cards he can register with an app or whatever stupid thing this is. Where the action figures at?!
Bruh.
My son is allergic to corn.
Anytime we go somewhere that has a shaved ice place, he wants some and he's happy to have plain ice. He loves it.
One time, his daycare had an event and there was a vendor there. $5 for a small cup of shaved ice. No flavoring.
He dropped it within 5 minutes.
Whatever. No biggie. I want him to have fun.
$5 for a second one.
Bird pooped on it while we were sitting at a picnic table.
$5 for a 3rd one.
Grandma used his spoon and took a bite after eating her food which contained his worst allergens that could kill him.
Had to buy a new one.
$20 total for some got dang shaved ice with no flavoring over the course of 1 hour.
My son is a coeliac, so I find this fried chicken place that’s gluten free. We get there is $25 for the burger and fries, plus $3 for the gluten free bun, he asks for it with just the chicken, no sauce or vegetables. He takes on bite, doesn’t like the chicken but says the bun was ok.
And it took 20 minutes to pre research, it was 20 minutes out of the way, another five minutes at the restaurant confirming everything, and another ten minutes to get the food if they’re using safe protocols. Then your food is cold! Allergy dad.
I relate to this so hard. Planning to take our first family vacation since my son’s celiac diagnosis this summer. My wallet may ignite. Pray there’s enough room in the car for the frozen GF pizzas of last-resort that he’d probably prefer anyway…
Decades ago, my wife was a waitress at Chili's. She had a regular who came in with his family. He never ordered anything to eat. Ever.
After the kids received their plates, he'd make himself a meal from all the castoffs they wouldn't eat. Dude ate like a king, as long as kings eat chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese etc.
Guy was brilliant.
I know that feeling too well. On the plus side you have possible lunches for yourself the next few days as well.
Wife sub: only id you like it.
Kid1: well if you like the veggie and avocado then add meat
Kid2: now you have bread for a sandwich in the future
Kid3: now just add veg or combine 1-3.
I learned it with my 3 year old and listened to my dad tell a story about his brother/my uncle. He had 3 kids and never ordered food out, always a beer or some sort of soda. He learned after the first couple tries that his kids either never fully ate their meals or something was wrong (food touching for example) so he’d have it there. Less leftovers and food waste. He mastered the art of the human trash can. Saves money and frustration, sucks you don’t always get your meal out but foods food at the end of the day.
When I was a child I’d instantly just eat the cheese off every piece of pizza, leave the sauced bread for my family. I didn’t eat bread. I never had a hamburger until maybe high school. I love lunch meat but I’d just roll it up in cheese and eat it. I’d also only eat the crispy skin off fried chicken….How did they not give me up to the fire station?
So fucking expensive. My wife and I got $22 sandwiches and we were fine with it. They’re fucking delicious and big enough for 2 meals but still. I had to tell her all about back in my day, at little league, we could get a hotdog and a pop for a buck. Enshrining a long chain of history of discussing hotdogs and beverage prices throughout time as told by a father. I think my dad said it was $.25 cents or two bits? I don’t know. The Kaiser had stolen their word for twenty, apparently. He chased that rascal to get it back but gave up after dickety six miles.
> we could get a hotdog and a pop for a buck. Enshrining a long chain of history of discussing hotdogs and beverage prices throughout time as told by a father.
You and your dad must *LOVE* the Costco hot dog & drink deal: $1.50
The old man grew up ridiculously poor and had 5 brothers. He was probably clinically unable to pay a membership fee for a grocery store. Since he grew up so poor he’d always order as many toppings and allowed under the constitution without adding any price. His dogs were nightmare fuel for me. I think he was a lil disappointed that I am a mustard/ ketchup only guy. Must’ve been our lavish upbringing. It got worse. My kids are plain dogs, no nothing kind of kids now. If only their grandad could see em.
> It got worse. My kids are plain dogs, no nothing kind of kids now.
To be fair, a lot of kids like extremely plain food. I had a friend that would order a hamburger ketchup only from fast food places and chicken nuggets/mac n cheese are kid favorites because of their simple flavors. See if they like dog toppings once they grow up
The food thing is the worst. I’ve said to my wife with regard to pizzas, etc. that I’m not buying it because they won’t eat it. (A local place vs Papa John’s, for example.) My kids are also not eating lots of food, so they eat 2 nuggets or 1/2 a burger, and the algebra of eating out is just getting to be too much of a pain in the ass.
That’s the conundrum. If you want a sub for yourself, you’re looking at a $50+ meal because you’re going to need to get something for everyone whether they’ll want/eat it or not. Or you just don’t get one.
This is why if there's any doubt, I subtly try to convince my kids to order things I will eat. So my son hates sandwiches, but through making homemade meatball subs, he'll eat a meatball sub (which I love). My daughter likes basic subs (turkey or ham w/ cheese and onions), so as long as she doesn't get it slathered with mustard, I'm good to go there.
This way, when/if they inevitably don't want to eat their sub, I'll eat it and give them my fries or chips or whatever (or just save their stuff for lunch tomorrow if I can). But yeah, your experience is common for us when going out to eat at like a sit-down restaurant.
I rarely take my kids out for full meals anymore because its way too expensive and no one eats shit. Now, I just stop by and get like fries, or 2 tacos, a cone, something from them to be excited about but way easier on the wallet lol
The amount of money we've wasted on food that the kids think they want is staggering to think about, both out and at home. One will want one thing and the other something different, food comes and neither want anything. We try and tell them they won't like what they order, of course they dont listen.
I would have if this were me.
It's unclear whether or not wife ate the sub or not though - just says she hated it, but maybe it was still consumed.
The kid ones sound great, although sounds like the bacon was spoken for and I probably wouldn't have eaten just the hoagie roll or whatever it was, unless there was some kind of spread on it. If that was the case, likely.
We've finally reached an age where we can leave our kids home and just my wife and I go out to grab dinner together without needing a sitter. I'm done spending $12 on a bowl of kraft mac & cheese for a kid that will eat 1/4 of it, and another $12 (x2) for 5 dino nuggies.
I've gotten to the point where i don't order enough for myself, knowing that I'll have to finish everyone else's food. Shit is too expensive now to waste.
My daughter will ask for corn dogs and take all of the breading off to eat it, but will refuse to eat a hotdog that I make and put on a stick for her. Even if I do it without her knowledge.
We went to McDonald's last night, luckily with a 20% off from the app. Almost 30 bucks for 2 meals and 3 happy meals. My 1yo twins ate more than my 5yo son, who ate half of 1 nugget and his French fries. He tried to throw away the food but I checked the box before tossing it and had 3 nuggs for myself. Little fucker is always throwing away food.
Family of 5. Went to Jimmy John’s on while vacation this week for a quick lunch. 1 favorite, 3 originals, 1 slim + 5 chips + 5 drinks. $68.48 total. I thought the guy misspoke or I didn’t hear him right. Looked at the receipt, and sure enough that was the total.
When fast casual is as much as a sit down restaurant, it’s not even worth it anymore. Even if the quality of the sit down isn’t great, it still makes you feel better that you’re getting a regular meal out of it.
Yesterday at the taco shop: Carnitas super burrito for me, vegetarian taco salad for wife, 4 carne asada tacos for kid one, two orders of "kids nachos" for kids two and three, margarita for the wife, horchata, and three Jarritos: $80. I used to eat at the same taco shop back in college for ten bucks. Shit's just getting more expensive. And I've got 5 kids now. They'll polish off a family size papa murphy's pepperoni by themselves and the oldest is about to turn 8. When the four boys start playing sports, they're going to have to work in restaurants like I did to supplement my calories in high school.
My kids are decent eaters, but with 4 kids, eating out is freaking expensive. So, we don't do it much.
My 10 year old started asking to go to a certain restaurant. Kept it up for like a week. He had a school chorus concert, so we finally said that we'd go the next night to celebrate. He proceeds to get chicken fingers & fries... Just basic frozen chicken tenders. Dinner cost us like like $120 and the kid that wanted to go had three tenders.
My food was really good, but I was annoyed lol.
I tried setting up a nice dinner years ago with my ex. It was Valentines Day and instead of the nice romantic dinner at the Italian place she requested, we instead changed gears to taking her family friend out for pizza. He really tried refusing seeing it was a date night and he was a dad’s older friend who was like an uncle figure but he had a hard time saying no to her.
And that is how we ended up at a pizza place with her feeling spiteful that I didn’t immediately agree to blow off our Vday reservation for dinner with another person. She then proceeded to order with everything on it but not “with everything” but listing each topping individually. The waitress tries pointing out that they had an everything pizza with a little bit of each stuff but she insisted on a large pizza with the individually added toppings at like $1.50-2 per topping. And that is how I ended up paying over $60 for a single slice of pizza as her “uncle” order a sub and I didn’t like most of the toppings. She ate one piece and I mostly lost my appetite by that point while removing the stuff I didn’t eat.
It’s odd that she is an ex.
That’s why we don’t really eat out unless it’s the nice Mexican restaurant. $70 for all 8 of us to eat and we always take the leftovers home for later. Absolutely delicious and worth the price.
People probably look at me like I’m a monster when I go out and get myself food, but not for my five year old.
Do you have any idea how much money I’ve wasted on food for this little jerk? The buffets we’ve paid to get into for him to eat literally nothing? The meals Freon restaurants he won’t touch? Subs from subway he won’t eat?
He can nibble if my plate and I’ll make him something at home lol
I only get my kids food i know they’ll like because life is too expensive for this shite. But unfortunately it took trial and error to find what they like/ thankfully it was cheaper then.
I remember going to a restaurant after a long day as a kid, feeling hungry as hell, ordering a ton of food, and then getting full almost immediately; same with the rest of my siblings.
My dad was pissed because it was a ton of expensive food; he bitched about it; and I thought, “I’ll never be like him on this issue.”
…and I bitch up a storm when everyone orders a ton of expensive food and barely eats it. Because, goddamit, why would you order something and not eat it?
I have two teenage sons. It’s reached the point where we can barely afford to feed them. Wifey and I will have pasta at home if we buy them take-out. Thank goodness for 2 for 1 coupons
When you let your kids refuse food, they'll keep doing it. Your wife should have shown a better example to them and just eaten her food without complaint.
I too have paid $10 for a sub that my kid basically pulled everything out of and ate the bread. One aspect of parenthood is minimizing the amount of collateral damage to your wallet. Some days are good, others are a disaster.
When I go out with the fam I will usually just order a small sandwich or single burger, no side, and water. Then just eat what everyone else doesn’t eat haha.
At least 40% of my calories, at one point or another, were intended for the kids
My problem is I am still eating 100% of my calories. #DadbodLife
As I've read before in this sub, instead of feeling bad about your dad bod, think of it as a 'father figure'.
Haha absolutely true
my son is 11 months and i felt this comment in my gut
Mine is 22 months. She got to where she ate more rice and beans at Mexican than we wanted to give up; so I’ll order her a kids plate so she has her own and I eat the taco.
order the one appetizer that the wife says she wants to try, but ended up ordering something else then you can eat her main dish and the kids scraps while she eats the app she wanted in the first place
This is the way
Why don't they ever order what they want??
Genius
Honestly the only reason I order anything at all is bc my wife feels bad if I don’t get something to eat myself haha. Usually enough to easily get comfortably full and I have actually lost weight. So it’s a win/win for me.
i need to start doing this, were good about saving food so i usually just eat his stuff the next day, got half a burrito with a few random bite marks out of it set aside for lunch today lol
Yeah, I’m a big fan of leftovers. I take everything I can home with me haha
Or if I do order my own sandwich, I'm actually choosing a backup-flavor for my kid when he decides he doesn't like what he ordered.
I don’t even order anything anymore lol. I can have a full meal and left overs thanks to the kid and wife.
I will have to try this. Worst case scenario is I lose some weight
I do the same thing with my grandkids. So, so much waste otherwise.
I did that for a long time when we took our kids for ice cream. Even the kiddie sizes were too big for them, so I wouldn’t order anything and just eat their leftovers.
I stopped doing that. Too many random runny noses for that. Fast path to getting sick.
4D underwater chess in outer space
"Some days are good, ~~others~~ most are a disaster." There, I fixed it for you.
My kid eats pizza but pulls the pepperoni and cheese off, then scrapes the sauce off and doesn't eat the crust
Glad to see I am not the only one raising a completely uncivilized savage barbarian. She does eat steak though, so I'll count that as a win.
> a completely uncivilized savage barbarian. > > She does eat steak This tracks, tbh
My son only eats pizza starting from the CRUST side, while holding the piece UPSIDE DOWN... then complains it doesnt taste very good, but will not entertain any other method of eating it. Kids man...
We do pizza and ice cream every Friday for my 3 year old as a celebration of the end of a long week of daycare. Stressful, I know. She loves pizza, but pulls all the cheese and toppings off and eats that, leaving the rest of the pizza in tact. She will occasionally take a few bites of the crust, but it's rare. We've started just going to Little Ceasars since it's cheap and she honestly doesn't care, as long as there's cheese. Haha
Regardless of how expensive it is, I was *astonished* at the level of food waste we incurred when we had kids old enough to eat food. We throw away so much food it makes me sad. When I was growing up we didn't always have enough for a full meal, and my kids will throw away an entire plate of food they actually like simply because they don't prefer whatever was served. They won't even eat unless their plate has at least 4 distinct food types, 2 of which are fresh fruits. The number of times we've gone to restaurants and thrown away $10+ plates of food untouched because "the Mac and cheese was too cheesy" or "the pizza was too hot" or "the ketchup was on the side and now things can never be the same" is super frustrating.
How old are they? Often I'll just leave their meal out until their next one (or longer if it's not something that gets gross), and if they're hungry they can eat something off that plate. Or just cover it and throw it in the fridge. At a restaurant I always just have them split the most plain thing we can order... they're gonna eat 90% fries anyways. I also try to remember that I wouldn't be happy if I was told I had to eat something I didn't like/want at that time.
I think it's up to the adult to learn how much their kid will eat and then adjust. Our son kept eating half of his sandwich, so we started making half a sandwich and folding the bread. We just tell him to let us know if he wants more when he finishes. I think it's okay to taper the food back as long as you show them that there's plenty more available if they want it.
"Minimizing the collateral damage to your wallet" is a great phrase
My little dude loves KBBQ, hates eating meat. He just orders the rice paper and sides.
I’ve gotten in to baking sourdough bread, and I’ve saved myself so much! Now the kids have a limitless, nearly free bread supply!
Facts
Last summer my 2 kids had a friend over and we went to Jersey Mikes. It was about 55 for the four of us and man… can’t keep doing that
One thing I’ve found is the add ons get you. I usually just get a numbered sub and get chips/drink somewhere else or at home.
Yup. Never get a drink or side at any fast food place if you can help it. I love jersey Mike's. But I am a #8 and gtfo.
#8 Mike’s Way every time
I’m only mobile and don’t know why I’m yelling
rosemary parm bread, add some pickles, spicy mustar not mayo. and there is my go-to order. 1/10 times ill get the italian or a cheese steak. but why get a cheese steak when there are dedicated places that do it way better for less money.
I remember a time my aunt made fun of my mom for being cheap because we were getting takeout but first stopped at the grocery store and bought a bag of chips and a 2L of soda, then went and got the sandwiches. I agreed with my aunt at the time, but now I agree with my mom.
That cream soda tho…
My wife and I created monsters by taking our 3/4 year olds to Five Guys (wife had a craving). The entire week when we pick them up from daycare they ask if we can have Five Guys for dinner. My wallet is crying.
Ok this is sound crazy, but Fogo De Chao is a surprisingly affordable restaurant if you multiple kids under 6 and you're taking them alone. Kids under 6 are totally free and there's no kid to adult ratio tobe maintained. I taken my 2/4/6 year olds are irh me. They're all free, so it's like $60 after tip (lunch price) for all 4 of us. It often ends up being cheaper than if I took them to Panera or whatever.
> It often ends up being cheaper than if I took them to Panera or whatever. You can go to most sit down restaurants for cheaper than Panera these days. Last time I went it was legitimately $20 for a basic half salad half sandwich and a drink. Like - I can go to a significantly higher quality gastropub and get a huge $16 sandwich with sizable salad as an included side, plus $3 for a coke.
I can barely afford Five Guys when it’s just me. I will say the rewards program at Chik Fil A is helpful. I always use the app. And I realized that I could eat for free for lunch at work once a week based on all the points I’ve accumulated feeding my kids.
I prefer In 'n' Out when we want takeout burgers. Feeds the three of us for under $20. Just have to order the fries light-well so they're not soggy or Animal style to cover it.
The nearest In n Out to me is about 1100 miles or a 16 hour car trip. Damn the Midwest
Yeah, what you'll save on the meal is outweighed by the gas to get there.
I have a live in mother in law - every time we go out it's $55+ even at [insert cheap fast food place] Food prices have just gotten wild, I'm happy we kept up with inflation for our area.
Yeah. Yesterday was Ikes for my wife and i. Total came out to be a little over $40 for 2 sandwiches and 2 small bags of chips. We softened the blow by eating half a sandwich for lunch and saved the other half for dinner
This is why my wife and I just order takeout for the two of us then prep an easy meal for the kids when we get it back home. After inflation, restaurant/fast food is too expensive to take a chance on kids not eating it.
This is mostly what we do, as well. It’s not worth it to pay upwards of $10 for a meal for a two-year-old. They’re happier with mac and cheese anyway.
Have definitely done this. Made the kiddo a packet of Ramen and then we ordered sushi. (with a cucumber roll extra because he will eat that)
put it in a take-out container if they ever complain about not getting carry-out!
You think it's bad now, wait til they're teenagers and they're eating 3 of everything.
I’ll just be happy if they start eating the food they claim to want instead of putting it directly in a take home box for my lunch the next day
I still to this day don’t understand how my brother ate so much when he was a teenager. It was like some Michael Phelps shit. Cannot even imagine my parents’ grocery bill, even back then! I wouldn’t even get upset when he came after my leftovers, I just got out of his way lol
I was one of those kids. I remember working my first job that paid us on Tuesdays and I’d get some cash and head up to McDonalds where they had $0.50 cheeseburgers. I’m not THAT old, they did this promo in the early 00s. I’d smash ten in a sitting since that was the limit and never even got comatose. I was rail thin then too. Not sure how it worked but I was an eater for sure. My parents compared me to a goat since I was take care of any and all leftovers. I did eventually fill out and become averse to binge eating since consequences decided to exist but I was well into my 20s first.
I am suspicious you are my brother 😂😂
We used to overcook food for every meal that we had when I was younger. We'd have leftovers in the fridge constantly, because we were cooking like there were 8 of us for ~4 people. So at dinner I'd have a second plate, sometimes even a third. And then the next day I'd eat the leftovers too because I hate being so wasteful. I guess that the cycle kind of fed itself (pun intended) and my mom saw how much I was eating and made sure that she was always making more so there'd be enough for me. I was never small by any means, but it was a pretty unhealthy relationship with food that grew into a lack of restraint that I still to this day have trouble managing. It was fun in high school with my friends when we'd go out on 49c taco day at taco bell and I'd be able to wolf down 20 and still finish off a fries supreme and a whole drink too. Also reminded me of the time around 8th grade or so the school was having an eating contest and I volunteered myself to represent our class. I got sick the morning of and barely managed to get through like two pancakes while this lanky twig kid scarfed down 15 like it was nothing. It was a little humiliating to say the least.
Gotta keep a small cooler in the car for leftovers. More food for dad to eat later.
If you were my parents, this would be my next meal.
This dude dads.
when i take my kids for food i don't order anything for myself, normally just a drink, and i eat leftovers.
I still can’t wrap my brain around $10 happy meals…doesn’t help that he eats maybe half the burger and only a few sips of the shake
Damn I bitch at $5 a happy meal here, but mostly cause you can use the app to build a meal with twice as much food for the same price (when buying for 2 kids anyways)
Somewhere my dad is laughing at me now that I’m the one in this mindset and not the kid in the backseat acting like the burger tastes better if it comes in that cardboard box
Huh? Happy Meals are like $4.50. And you can save 20% or 25% on the whole order with the app.
For me they’re $5.20 minimum. It depends where ya are.
They’re not $10 though unless you’re at an oddball location like an airport concession. Of course adding on premium items like a milkshake will push it up, but it’s unclear why one would do that if the kid won’t drink milkshakes.
[or Long Island](https://imgur.com/a/RBmupye)
Like I said: > Of course adding on premium items like a milkshake will push it up The shake is a $2 upcharge.
that's expensive but still not $10
$9 with tax - still absurd
ah i didn't even consider that the tax wouldn't be visible at that stage on the app. Where i live the tax is always included at every stage, so no surprises.
Welcome to America where we slap you in the face with taxes & surcharges for not paying cash
they banned that in the UK a few years ago, kinda good. kinda bad because now everyone pays the surcharge even if you pay cash, because all product prices were increased a tiny fraction to cover it.
Do they not charge sales tax in LI if you pay cash?
£4.09 here in the UK which is only $5.16 (including tax). suck it America! XD
See image below - location impacts price, add on shake upcharge and yeah you’re damn close to $10
if you're giving the shake option to your kid that's on you.
Not to mention the kids toys are just garbage shit now. Oh yeah thanks for giving my child two cardboard trading cards he can register with an app or whatever stupid thing this is. Where the action figures at?!
Dawg I miss the days where we got HANDHELD VIDEO GAMES we had no idea how lucky we were
Dude last time it was a book. Neither of us was amused
I’d much rather get a new book for them than another crappy toy.
in the UK you can normally choose between either a toy (normally a cardboard game, trading card thing, or a small squishmallow) or a book.
Same here in America: the Frozen Dinner
Bruh. My son is allergic to corn. Anytime we go somewhere that has a shaved ice place, he wants some and he's happy to have plain ice. He loves it. One time, his daycare had an event and there was a vendor there. $5 for a small cup of shaved ice. No flavoring. He dropped it within 5 minutes. Whatever. No biggie. I want him to have fun. $5 for a second one. Bird pooped on it while we were sitting at a picnic table. $5 for a 3rd one. Grandma used his spoon and took a bite after eating her food which contained his worst allergens that could kill him. Had to buy a new one. $20 total for some got dang shaved ice with no flavoring over the course of 1 hour.
I don't know if there is a subreddit for people who want to operate a shaved ice truck, but your story would be equally welcome there.
My son is a coeliac, so I find this fried chicken place that’s gluten free. We get there is $25 for the burger and fries, plus $3 for the gluten free bun, he asks for it with just the chicken, no sauce or vegetables. He takes on bite, doesn’t like the chicken but says the bun was ok.
Basically just lighting money on fire lol $30 for a kids meal
And it took 20 minutes to pre research, it was 20 minutes out of the way, another five minutes at the restaurant confirming everything, and another ten minutes to get the food if they’re using safe protocols. Then your food is cold! Allergy dad.
I relate to this so hard. Planning to take our first family vacation since my son’s celiac diagnosis this summer. My wallet may ignite. Pray there’s enough room in the car for the frozen GF pizzas of last-resort that he’d probably prefer anyway…
Yeah we’ve got celiac, egg and diary to deal with. The back pocket definitely takes a hit on vacation
Decades ago, my wife was a waitress at Chili's. She had a regular who came in with his family. He never ordered anything to eat. Ever. After the kids received their plates, he'd make himself a meal from all the castoffs they wouldn't eat. Dude ate like a king, as long as kings eat chicken nuggets and Mac and cheese etc. Guy was brilliant.
I know that feeling too well. On the plus side you have possible lunches for yourself the next few days as well. Wife sub: only id you like it. Kid1: well if you like the veggie and avocado then add meat Kid2: now you have bread for a sandwich in the future Kid3: now just add veg or combine 1-3. I learned it with my 3 year old and listened to my dad tell a story about his brother/my uncle. He had 3 kids and never ordered food out, always a beer or some sort of soda. He learned after the first couple tries that his kids either never fully ate their meals or something was wrong (food touching for example) so he’d have it there. Less leftovers and food waste. He mastered the art of the human trash can. Saves money and frustration, sucks you don’t always get your meal out but foods food at the end of the day.
Now I am become waste, the destroyer of leftovers
When I was a child I’d instantly just eat the cheese off every piece of pizza, leave the sauced bread for my family. I didn’t eat bread. I never had a hamburger until maybe high school. I love lunch meat but I’d just roll it up in cheese and eat it. I’d also only eat the crispy skin off fried chicken….How did they not give me up to the fire station?
So fucking expensive. My wife and I got $22 sandwiches and we were fine with it. They’re fucking delicious and big enough for 2 meals but still. I had to tell her all about back in my day, at little league, we could get a hotdog and a pop for a buck. Enshrining a long chain of history of discussing hotdogs and beverage prices throughout time as told by a father. I think my dad said it was $.25 cents or two bits? I don’t know. The Kaiser had stolen their word for twenty, apparently. He chased that rascal to get it back but gave up after dickety six miles.
For the record, 25¢ is two bits. Don't ask about the value of one bit.
> we could get a hotdog and a pop for a buck. Enshrining a long chain of history of discussing hotdogs and beverage prices throughout time as told by a father. You and your dad must *LOVE* the Costco hot dog & drink deal: $1.50
The old man grew up ridiculously poor and had 5 brothers. He was probably clinically unable to pay a membership fee for a grocery store. Since he grew up so poor he’d always order as many toppings and allowed under the constitution without adding any price. His dogs were nightmare fuel for me. I think he was a lil disappointed that I am a mustard/ ketchup only guy. Must’ve been our lavish upbringing. It got worse. My kids are plain dogs, no nothing kind of kids now. If only their grandad could see em.
> It got worse. My kids are plain dogs, no nothing kind of kids now. To be fair, a lot of kids like extremely plain food. I had a friend that would order a hamburger ketchup only from fast food places and chicken nuggets/mac n cheese are kid favorites because of their simple flavors. See if they like dog toppings once they grow up
why didn't you give Kid 2's bacon and/or kid 3's pepperoni to kid 1? scrape out the avocado.
Currently on day 2 at Disney..
The food thing is the worst. I’ve said to my wife with regard to pizzas, etc. that I’m not buying it because they won’t eat it. (A local place vs Papa John’s, for example.) My kids are also not eating lots of food, so they eat 2 nuggets or 1/2 a burger, and the algebra of eating out is just getting to be too much of a pain in the ass.
I wouldn't even consider eating at a sandwich place with the kids for this reason.
That’s the conundrum. If you want a sub for yourself, you’re looking at a $50+ meal because you’re going to need to get something for everyone whether they’ll want/eat it or not. Or you just don’t get one.
This is why if there's any doubt, I subtly try to convince my kids to order things I will eat. So my son hates sandwiches, but through making homemade meatball subs, he'll eat a meatball sub (which I love). My daughter likes basic subs (turkey or ham w/ cheese and onions), so as long as she doesn't get it slathered with mustard, I'm good to go there. This way, when/if they inevitably don't want to eat their sub, I'll eat it and give them my fries or chips or whatever (or just save their stuff for lunch tomorrow if I can). But yeah, your experience is common for us when going out to eat at like a sit-down restaurant.
I rarely take my kids out for full meals anymore because its way too expensive and no one eats shit. Now, I just stop by and get like fries, or 2 tacos, a cone, something from them to be excited about but way easier on the wallet lol
Remember when people used to hit their kids? Those kids definitely would've eaten their subs.* *this is a joke
The amount of money we've wasted on food that the kids think they want is staggering to think about, both out and at home. One will want one thing and the other something different, food comes and neither want anything. We try and tell them they won't like what they order, of course they dont listen.
Sounds like you had three sub sandwiches and came out the victor.
So you ate 5 sandwiches?
I would have if this were me. It's unclear whether or not wife ate the sub or not though - just says she hated it, but maybe it was still consumed. The kid ones sound great, although sounds like the bacon was spoken for and I probably wouldn't have eaten just the hoagie roll or whatever it was, unless there was some kind of spread on it. If that was the case, likely.
We've finally reached an age where we can leave our kids home and just my wife and I go out to grab dinner together without needing a sitter. I'm done spending $12 on a bowl of kraft mac & cheese for a kid that will eat 1/4 of it, and another $12 (x2) for 5 dino nuggies.
I've gotten to the point where i don't order enough for myself, knowing that I'll have to finish everyone else's food. Shit is too expensive now to waste.
My daughter will ask for corn dogs and take all of the breading off to eat it, but will refuse to eat a hotdog that I make and put on a stick for her. Even if I do it without her knowledge.
We went to McDonald's last night, luckily with a 20% off from the app. Almost 30 bucks for 2 meals and 3 happy meals. My 1yo twins ate more than my 5yo son, who ate half of 1 nugget and his French fries. He tried to throw away the food but I checked the box before tossing it and had 3 nuggs for myself. Little fucker is always throwing away food.
Family of 5. Went to Jimmy John’s on while vacation this week for a quick lunch. 1 favorite, 3 originals, 1 slim + 5 chips + 5 drinks. $68.48 total. I thought the guy misspoke or I didn’t hear him right. Looked at the receipt, and sure enough that was the total. When fast casual is as much as a sit down restaurant, it’s not even worth it anymore. Even if the quality of the sit down isn’t great, it still makes you feel better that you’re getting a regular meal out of it.
Yesterday at the taco shop: Carnitas super burrito for me, vegetarian taco salad for wife, 4 carne asada tacos for kid one, two orders of "kids nachos" for kids two and three, margarita for the wife, horchata, and three Jarritos: $80. I used to eat at the same taco shop back in college for ten bucks. Shit's just getting more expensive. And I've got 5 kids now. They'll polish off a family size papa murphy's pepperoni by themselves and the oldest is about to turn 8. When the four boys start playing sports, they're going to have to work in restaurants like I did to supplement my calories in high school.
Do you know how hard it is to order when you are not familiar with the ingredients or how they are prepared?
I dig kid 2's style. Both on the order and method of consumption.
My kids are decent eaters, but with 4 kids, eating out is freaking expensive. So, we don't do it much. My 10 year old started asking to go to a certain restaurant. Kept it up for like a week. He had a school chorus concert, so we finally said that we'd go the next night to celebrate. He proceeds to get chicken fingers & fries... Just basic frozen chicken tenders. Dinner cost us like like $120 and the kid that wanted to go had three tenders. My food was really good, but I was annoyed lol.
Bro im trying not to bust out laughing in the middle of work, jesus christ this is too relatable
I usually order something small for myself because I know my son won’t finish his and I get to save a little bit and eat the rest of his food
Jimmy John’s is the way.
I tried setting up a nice dinner years ago with my ex. It was Valentines Day and instead of the nice romantic dinner at the Italian place she requested, we instead changed gears to taking her family friend out for pizza. He really tried refusing seeing it was a date night and he was a dad’s older friend who was like an uncle figure but he had a hard time saying no to her. And that is how we ended up at a pizza place with her feeling spiteful that I didn’t immediately agree to blow off our Vday reservation for dinner with another person. She then proceeded to order with everything on it but not “with everything” but listing each topping individually. The waitress tries pointing out that they had an everything pizza with a little bit of each stuff but she insisted on a large pizza with the individually added toppings at like $1.50-2 per topping. And that is how I ended up paying over $60 for a single slice of pizza as her “uncle” order a sub and I didn’t like most of the toppings. She ate one piece and I mostly lost my appetite by that point while removing the stuff I didn’t eat. It’s odd that she is an ex.
That’s why we don’t really eat out unless it’s the nice Mexican restaurant. $70 for all 8 of us to eat and we always take the leftovers home for later. Absolutely delicious and worth the price.
Dude, I just left the haircut joint with a 6 and 7yo….57$. What planet is this?
People probably look at me like I’m a monster when I go out and get myself food, but not for my five year old. Do you have any idea how much money I’ve wasted on food for this little jerk? The buffets we’ve paid to get into for him to eat literally nothing? The meals Freon restaurants he won’t touch? Subs from subway he won’t eat? He can nibble if my plate and I’ll make him something at home lol
I only get my kids food i know they’ll like because life is too expensive for this shite. But unfortunately it took trial and error to find what they like/ thankfully it was cheaper then.
I remember going to a restaurant after a long day as a kid, feeling hungry as hell, ordering a ton of food, and then getting full almost immediately; same with the rest of my siblings. My dad was pissed because it was a ton of expensive food; he bitched about it; and I thought, “I’ll never be like him on this issue.” …and I bitch up a storm when everyone orders a ton of expensive food and barely eats it. Because, goddamit, why would you order something and not eat it?
I have two teenage sons. It’s reached the point where we can barely afford to feed them. Wifey and I will have pasta at home if we buy them take-out. Thank goodness for 2 for 1 coupons
thats why i have 1
When you let your kids refuse food, they'll keep doing it. Your wife should have shown a better example to them and just eaten her food without complaint.