Prior to having my daughter, I loved to go out and try new places with my husband. At that time, Edmonton’s food scene wasn’t as fast growing as it is now and we were able to try new places as they popped up. Fast forward two years later from when I started reviews (originally on Zomato and then to Google Maps and as a Local Guide) and the food scene was booming. I couldn’t keep up and was resigned to try new food places from a specific category. At first it was the noodle/ramen scene which quickly moved to the “local” food scene. Never did I consider how child friendly a restaurant was until I had my daughter. While we did not go out as much, I wanted to know if where I was going at least had high chairs, welcomed children with open arms, and had a child friendly menu or dishes that I could share with my daughter. If there was a change table, that was a bonus for me. However, I have been known to change my daughter on a chair or on a bench in the restaurant to make a point of how they did not consider all the factors of making a place child friendly.
Relying on blogs, restaurant reviews, and reviews on Google Maps, I was able to determine where I could go that were outside the typical family chain restaurants. This in turn motivated me to share my experiences and what could be expected so like minded individuals could go try these places out. I love it when I show up to a local restaurant and see other families with young kids trying out the same place. I get so disappointed when I need to change my daughter only to find that while they have high chairs and booster seats, there are no change tables in the bathrooms. It is because of my experiences that I want to share them on Google Maps so other foodies with young kids can get the most out of their experience in Edmonton and in other cities that I travel to. While I contribute to Google Maps less than I would have before my daughter, my love of reviewing restaurants, my experience, and their scale of child friendliness will hopefully inspire others to contribute their experiences at other places. I hope that this will create awareness within the “foodie parent” circle of local restaurants that can accommodate our littles.
@ChristianaD “Foodie Parent” is definitely a niche! One of our Connect Moderators, @KarenVChin , shares your exact passion 
Thanks! I have definitely noticed more “foodie parents” since joining this forum and inclusion of child friendly criteria in the questions on Google maps since I wrote this post. It’s great to read and connect with so many passionate individuals.
@ChristianaD - I find going to ethnic restaurants to be the most kid-friendly - Indian, Chinese, Vietnamese in particular – besides breakfast/brunch places, burger and pizza places, coffee shops (not all Starbucks have high chairs nor do they have changing tables in the San Francisco Bay Area). So far, been very lucky to go to places with enough high chairs for several kids at the same time.
I hear your frustration about changing tables in restrooms. Restaurants that have high chairs /booster chairs and kids menus, but don’t have a changing table in the women’s restroom makes no sense to me.
I agree once you have a baby you do make a mental note of which places / businesses have a changing table or not. There have been several times when a place does not have a changing table (ugghh!) and my hubby or me has to change a diaper in the back of our SUV.
I get very excited when I see a Family restroom - so both parents and Kid(s) can all go in once in one room. Here in California, we are starting to see men’s restrooms having a changing table in just opened, new places. I think this is attributed to individual local city ordinances that a business needs to comply to be truly “accessible” for everyone who patrons it. Again, my hubby and I get excited over this and, of course, I add it to Google Maps as part of my Local Guides review. The other “nice to sees” are toddler size toilets (ones that are in preschools) and step stools under sinks for little ones to reach the sink to wash their hands. We definitely patronize those businesses that offer those features.
Cheers,
Karen
Cheers,
Karen
@KarenVChin - Thanks for sharing your experience and point of view. It’s great to see that I’m not the only one that gets frustrated that a place has everything that would indicate child friendliness such as a kid’s menu, high chairs, and booster seats but no change table. It seems out of place that a place would go out of their way to be inclusive but not have a place for a child to “go”. I also assume that most ethnic restaurants are the most kid-friendly, but then I have also found that some don’t have change tables either. I have even asked at the counter before and they acknowldedged that they didn’t have one, which didn’t seem to bother them. However, having said this, I do see a change in newer restaurants having change tables in both the men and womens bathrooms and having family bathrooms as well. It’s nice to see that in other cities, such as yours that this is also a trend that is spreading!