Green Treehouse

This evening while walking with my children through an airport terminal to catch a flight, I overheard a woman making much ado about the assortment of restaurants at the airport. She was truly ecstatic about the variety. I can still see her waving her hands at the eatery display board and hear her voice reciting the list to her child. Subway. Pizza Hut. McDonalds. Starbucks. Yada Yada…. I couldn’t help but wonder “what’s the big deal?” Even my two year old wouldn’t get this worked up about these places–okay, I admit most of them are old hat–especially Starbucks.

Then while on the plane, I found myself thinking again about that woman’s reaction. Maybe she simply never eats out–with or without her child. I know there are plenty of families who don’t eat out much, if at all, due to finances or food allergies, among other reasons. Maybe I just eat out way too much. After all, my preschooler already recognizes the differences between Caribou’s cocoa and Starbuck’s, and the differences in sub preparation at Quiznos and Subway. My toddler even knows what restaurant tables work best with the Phil & Teds Me Too Chair.

So, now I’m really curious. How often do you eat out with your children? And…what’s “normal”?