The Art of Baby Table Manners....

To help ease my twins into the world of fine dining (and to ensure I can eat my own lunch without it going cold) I’m currently trying to teach the boys a few table manners! This does not mean teaching them if their bread roll should be on their left or right, or which knife they should be using for the fish course. It means teaching them the basics, this week’s lesson.......Plates aren’t Frizbees!

My boys love their food and they will eat anything that I put in front of them, including all the vegetables. Yes, i am a lucky mummy, but, as soon as I put that food onto a plate, it’s a different story, within minutes my kitchen will look like a scene from My Big Fat Greek Wedding!

I normally have to have a firm hold of any plate that is placed in front of them and they will happily eat straight from their highchair tray.  With many restaurants providing highchairs without trays and I sometimes have to question the hygiene of some restaurant highchairs (i’ve started to carry detol wipes in my changing bag – a must for any ladies and babies that lunch). It’s time the boy’s learnt that plates aren’t for throwing.

So, to help me teach the boys this skill I’ve invested in the Tommee Tippee Explora suction mats, these mats work with the Tommee Tippee bowls and plates to ensure that they stay firmly placed on the surface in front of them. The mats when wet, are meant to stick to any surface and they have a suction cup that will firmly hold a bowl or plate, so it can’t be lifted up. 

When we first used the mats, they were a great success, the boys couldn’t lift the bowls in front of them and they munched away at their lunch whist I got to watch and eat my HOT dinner ...aaahhhh bliss!

By day two, my clever boys had worked out that the bowls and plates will move off the suction mats if they slide them rather than lift them. Damn, I knew it was too good to be true, however, from this short experience my boys did learn a lesson, to eat all of their food before throwing the bowl/plate onto the floor, probably in protest as they always want more. My boys are masters in the art of finger food, but they have also started to use their own spoon, leaving me now completely hands free when it comes to feeding - hurray!! So, after a week of using the mats, I can confirm that the boys are eating from any bowls or plates we put in front of them, but we can’t yet guarantee it won’t end up on the floor once they’ve finished.

Here is this week’s restaurants review...

The Stansfield Arms, Apperley Bridge
http://www.gctaverns.co.uk/taverns
Occasion: Gossip & Wedding talk with a dear friend
Day & Time: Saturday, lunchtime

Ok, so this is more gastro pub than fine dining, but more up market than your local boozer. When my twins were just a twinkle in my eye, my hubby and I were regulars here as we use to take advantage of their evening, early bird special (two courses for £10.95).  As that now clashes with the bedtime routine we don’t often get to visit, so I jumped at the chance when my friend came to visit.

As it was a nice day and this pub is local to me, my friend and I decided to walk here. When we got there, we were shown to a table near the door and were provided with two highchairs. My friend headed to the bar, while I sorted out the boys. I had only got one into a highchair when i was greeted by a grumpy front of house, moaning that my buggy was blocking a walk way and commenting on the size of it! Yes i was aware that we were in the way, but i was going to move it once i had got both of my boys safely fastened into their highchairs. He stopped moaning once i said i would be moving it. The highchairs weren’t great; think basic, plastic, ikea style without a tray, which is disappointing as they don’t fit with the style of the pub. The highchairs also looked liked they had been chewed by a hundred teething babies!

I started to feel this wouldn’t be a great visit to The Stansfield Arms...we ordered our food from the extensive menu and were impressed by the large children’s menu that didn’t just include dishes with chips! When the food arrived (service was without a smile) they had got my friends order slightly wrong so that had to go back, and my duck hoi sin wrap lacked hoi sin sauce!! Very disappointing as the service and food is normally great, so maybe they were just having an off day. The child’s portion (lasagne) was very tasty and huge, infact the twins and I could have shared it and for £4.95 it was a bargain!

Whilst tucking into our food, one of my boys decided to throw a tantrum with the full waterworks, maybe because he was tired or maybe it was because of the uncomfy highchair he was sat in. At that point the pub was fairly quiet (no other families in there) but nobody seemed to mind my screaming child. Once we quickly put him back into his buggy, he calmed down, thankfully....maybe it was the highchair after all.

At the end of the meal we started to smell something nasty, don’t worry it wasn’t the kitchen but my other sons explosive nappy (yes being a lady that lunches isn’t always full of glamour!) so this was a great opportunity to put the baby changing rooms to the test.

The baby changing facilities were located in the disabled toilet, when i walked in I was greeted with a wall mounted changing table, it seemed to be a very old style and very high up on the wall. I’m average height and as it came up to my chest i thought this changing table was far too high. It also wouldn’t lay flat and was on a slight incline, but worst of all the safety strap was broken. This isn’t great when you have a baby who’s decided he hates having his nappies changed! It wasn’t easy or safe to change his nappy and unless you were desperate i wouldn’t use that changing table, it needs to be fixed asap!

Overall, I’m very disappointed with my first visit as a mum to The Stansfield Arms and feel let down by what was once one of my favourite places to eat. The food is normally great, with a nice atmosphere and the early bird is good value for money so maybe it’s one for the date nights but definitely not for ladies and babies that lunch, unless changes are made ASAP!

Service 3/5
Baby Facilities 2/5
Space for Buggy 2/5
Food for Adults 3/5 (normally 4/5 so maybe avoid the duck wrap)
Food for Children 4/5

We are now on twitter!! Yes my lovely friends who taught me how to blog are teaching me how to tweet, please follow us @LBThatLunch