Busy schedules, keeping the kitchen cool, family celebrations: Families dine out for many reasons, even if the outings are a bit too often for their liking.

“We eat out more than I like to admit,” Leanne Joyner said, “at least twice a week. The busier the week, the more often we go.”

With families relying on dining out for many of their meals, restaurants are responding to the demand by accommodating their youngest customers.

Stay entertained

When Joyner’s son, Alex, now 10, was younger, she made sure to keep an arsenal of activities to keep him occupied.

“I would carry around a bag with crayons, color pages, puzzles and picture books,” she said. “While we waited for our food to come or if we wanted to sit for a few minutes after the meal, it was nice to have him doing something he enjoys.”

John Baker, owner of Sweet Tea Family Restaurant in Chapin, said his restaurant gives kids their own menus that feature activities to do while their families wait on meals.

“Our kids’ menu includes coloring pages, a crossword puzzle and a maze,” Baker said.

However, his restaurant also offers things parents can do with their children.

“We have an old-style, cocktail table arcade machine that has the classic games like Donkey Kong and Frogger,” he said. “It’s really cool to see parents sit down and teach their kids these games that they played as kids.”

Baker expresses the most pride about the Sweet Tea’s claw machine, which has a prize for every player.

“Even if the kids don’t win a toy, there’s a separate claw that they can use, for as many tries as it takes, until they get some candy,” he said.

Joyner said she has noticed many chain restaurants offering specials that provide entertainment for children — such as Disney nights at Chick-fil-A or balloon artists at CiCi’s Pizza — and she appreciates the effort.

“These are the kinds of things that make families want to go there,” Joyner said. “Knowing that you have my child in mind when you plan makes me want to spend money there.”

One such special experience Joyner had recently was at Scottie’s Café and Grill in Blythewood after her niece’s preschool graduation. The owner and wait staff treated Joyner’s niece to a free dessert and brought her son and niece free T-shirts.

“It totally made their night,” she said. “The staff really went above and beyond just giving us a good meal. I can tell they care about the community they are in.”

Scott Opolyn, owner of Scottie’s, has experience managing several family-oriented restaurants.

“When we went out to dinner when our children were kids, it was hard to find restaurants that were kid friendly,” Opolyn said. “So I like to gear my restaurants toward families with kids.”

While he admits that he has plans to bring in some activity booklets for children to have at the dinner table, Opolyn’s main strategy is to treat kids like they are customers.

“We like to treat kids as if they were part of us,” he said. “We don’t have booster chairs. We have regular high chairs so kids can sit right at the table, and we give them real cups with lids instead of to-go cups for their drinks.”

Be healthful

When her family goes out to eat, Joyner prefers healthier places.

“For fast food, we try to avoid burgers and fried foods,” she said. “We look for places that give healthier alternatives. If we have more time, we prefer the buffet type. Having lots of options works best for us.”

Baker’s Sweet Tea Family Restaurant offers a variety of main dishes and side dishes.

“Our kids’ menu has quite a few options, not just the standard grilled cheese and chicken fingers,” Baker said. “We have a 6-inch pizza and cheeseburgers, and they’re also not stuck with just pudding, french fries and applesauce for side dishes. Kids are able to get any of the 20 side items that we offer here.”

Another aspect parents should enjoy is the ease on their wallets, especially on Tuesday nights, when the restaurant offers a kids eat free special. For every adult who orders an entrée or meat and three vegetable dishes, two children younger than 12 eat for free from the kids’ menu.

“We don’t want parents to feel stuck at home because of the economy,” Baker said. “We don’t want them to feel like they can’t come out, because it does get costly to go out and eat all the time.”

Opolyn strives to keep costs reasonable for families as well.

“We want to make our menu affordable so that parents can bring the whole family,” he said. “A family of four should be able to eat here for under $25 to $30. The average price of our adult entrées is $8.”

Even fine-dining restaurants can accommodate those parents who want a special dinner out but might not have the babysitter to watch the kids. Thomas Risha, manager of Girabaldi’s Café in downtown Columbia, said they occasionally have children dining at their restaurant.

“We have a few families who come in,” Risha said, “mainly some of our regulars. But we have had kids who come in and sit in high chairs as young as 2 years old.”

While Girabaldi’s doesn’t have a children’s menu, they do offer smaller portions.

“We offer mainly Italian cuisine, and we have half orders of our pasta dishes and personal pizzas that the kids usually go for,” Risha said.

Scottie’s Café and Grill’s menu for kids offers popular kids’ items as well as pared down versions of adult entrees.

“Our kids burger looks just like the adult burger,” Opolyn said. “If they order the chicken fingers, we give them the same chicken fingers, just a couple less. It makes them feel like an adult.”

As far as helping kids choose what they want to eat, Joyner offers her technique.

“We discuss where we were going and brainstorm about what kind of choices the restaurant has,” she said. “That way the decisions are easy and argument free.”

However, Opolyn offers a choice he frequently sees kids make at his restaurants.

“Most of the time kids know what they want,” he said. “They want a burger and pickles — lots of pickles.”