This weekend, Parent Bloggers Network asked if we were “that family”. You know the one. The family that invades your favorite restaurant only to end up with kids running and screaming through the dining room, snatching food off other people’s plates, tripping waiters, that sort of thing.

Well, the truth is, no. We’re not that family. But don’t hate me for that yet. First of all, we just don’t go out to eat that often anyway, and when we do, it’s usually McDonald’s or Burger King. The reason for that is less about the food than it is about the play area. When we go to eat there, it’s often directly related to too many days of rain and two kids who are desperate to rid themselves of pent-up energy. And when we leave, we do encounter a lot of resistance and whining, so there is that.

But even when we’ve gone to other restaurants now and then, the kids are pretty well-behaved. I think part of it is because they are in a situation that they don’t get too often so they’re busy being distracted by the hub-bub around them. I also try to never go to a restaurant without crayons and paper. Most family-friendly restaurants do have them, but I bring some just in case. Plus, they usually bring you all of three or four crayons and with more than one kid that’s just begging for a hissy fit as they fight over the one red crayon.

I might also bring a book or two, but generally they’ve always done pretty well with eating out on occasion. Breanna does have a tendency to want to get down so I might walk her to the bathroom with me to fulfill her need to move, and then we come back and she eats more.

Like I said though, if you are indeed the family that turns family dining into chaos, don’t envy me too much. Going out to eat is not a regular thing for us. If it was, the novelty would wear off fast and I’d be the mom hiding under the table.

And if you see me looking your way while your child screams and throws french fries, I’m not judging you. I’m merely feeling sympathy towards you and wishing that there was a tactful way for me to walk over and try to help because I do know the mortification of a publicly tantrumming child.

(And honestly, my kids are often better behaved when they’re out than at home for stuff like that. I promise you, it’s just as annoying to have a kid eat two bites, then get down and leave or have them drop their plate by accident all over the floor when they’re at home. Even more so, really, because it’s not like I can just leave!)

This post was written for Parent Bloggers Network as part of a sweepstakes sponsored by Burger King Corp.