Growing up, I was quite the picky eater, so I was a big fan of a nice kids’ menu. It was a huge relief when I spotted macaroni and cheese, chicken tenders and fries, grilled cheese or a chicken quesadilla on a restaurant’s menu. But around the age of 12 or 13, my palette started expanding, and I finally began asking for the big kids’ menu.
Even today, though, if I wasn’t particularly hungry, I might be inclined to order a child’s portion once again. That is, if the restaurant would let me… Below, you’ll find a story that a man recently shared on Reddit detailing how a coffee shop refused to sell him a bagel simply because he wasn’t a kid.
Many restaurants offer kids’ menus with simple dishes and smaller portions
Image credits: Dmitry Zvolskiy / pexels (not the actual photo)
But when this man attempted to order a bagel off a coffee shop’s kids’ menu, the barista refused to make the sale
Image credits: Wendy Wei / pexels (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Shaxai
Offering a kids' menu can make a restaurant much more popular amongst families
To have a kids’ menu or to not have a kids’ menu, that is the question (for many restaurants). On one hand, offering less expensive meal options might cost a business, if parents would have ordered full-sized plates for their little ones instead. But on the other hand, families might skip dining at a restaurant altogether if there’s nothing on the menu that appeals to their children, or if they have to pay for five full-priced meals instead of just two.
According to the United States Census Bureau, there are about 63 million parents in the U.S. with kids under the age of 18 still living under their roofs. So because there are so many families with young kids, Grubhub for Restaurants notes that a kids’ menu could make a great addition to many dining spots.
Offering a kids’ menu is a wonderful way to stand out from establishments who don’t cater to little ones, and these menus appeal to parents who want to save some money. There’s no point in paying for a huge meal if your child will only eat half, and moms and dads will be eager to spend less on dinner.
Plus, these menus will have “kid friendly” food options that little ones will be excited to eat. They can have chicken nuggets and fries while Mom and Dad get to eat what they actually wanted.
Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
But some argue that kids' menus don't encourage children to expand their palates
Having a set menu for kiddos also makes it easier on restaurants because families can easily order something that’s already on the menu, rather than having to ask servers for substitutions or smaller portions. This saves everyone time and energy!
According to Grubhub, some of the most popular items that appear on kids’ menus are chicken nuggets, cheeseburgers, french fries, pizza, french toast, fruit and grilled cheese sandwiches. But some believe that, because many of these options aren’t incredibly nutrient-dense, kids menus actually aren’t doing children any favors.
Kids Cook Real Food notes that these simple menu items might be sabotaging the eating habits of kids by letting them stick to foods that are inside their comfort zones, rather than expanding their palates. If picky eaters are never pushed to try new dishes, get enough fruits and vegetables in or experiment with various cuisines, they might be even less willing to branch out to new foods in the future.
Plus, many of these kids' menu meals aren’t particularly healthy. They’re often ultra-processed foods high in sodium, saturated fat or sugar. While many parents believe that, as long as their kids are fed they’re doing just fine, that might not necessarily be the case. When you consider the fact that about one fifth of children and teens in the United States are obese, teaching kids healthy eating habits from a young age seems increasingly important.
Image credits: Moisés Delgado / pexels (not the actual photo)
Many adults who want to save money have started ordering off children's menus whenever they can
But this doesn’t mean that children’s menus are a lost cause. In fact, the question of whether or not adults should be allowed to order off a kids’ menu has become a hot topic recently. After TikToker Vanessa von Schwarz shared that she was shamed for ordering a kids’ pizza at a hotel in Japan, she reached out to the internet for their thoughts.
And many adults chimed in that they’ve ordered children’s meals plenty of times, when they wanted to save money or prevent themselves from wasting food. In fact, The Washington Post explored this topic last year, and they found that ordering off the kids’ menu is becoming a popular “hack” that content creators have been sharing online.
Despite the fact that it might get you a side-eye from the server, there’s usually not anything technically wrong with it. “The way I look at it, there’s no way I could [eat out often] if I was spending $20 a day for the adult-sized portion,” TikToker Ashley Garrett, who describes herself as a “kids’ menu connoisseur,” told The Washington Post. “So does the restaurant want my 8 or 10 dollars, or does it want zero?”
We would love to hear your thoughts on this topic in the comments below, pandas. Would you ever order off a kids’ menu? Feel free to share, and then if you’re interested in checking out another Bored Panda piece discussing dining habits, look no further than right here!
Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)
Some readers were less than impressed with the man's reaction, noting that he still ended up giving the coffee shop money
But many called out the barista for refusing to simply sell the bagel
And some even shared similar experiences of their own
