Can I get that on the side?

Why is it nearly impossible to get a healthy, size appropriate, stress-free kids' meal when you go out to eat? Add to that mix a need for vegetarian choices and life gets very interesting when dining out with the kiddums.

Recently, we had two unique dining experiences.

The first at a Friendly's (www.friendlys.com). This chain has a laminated kids' menu. Open it and prepare for a visual assault. I have a Bachelor's degree and my husband has a Master's degree. Neither of us could figure out the Friendly's kids' menu! After much confusing discussion with two different employees, we were told that Friendly's offers two options for your kids: either a "typical" child meal or a "larger" sized child meal. I suppose sort of like "super sizing" your choice. Once you make a selection on size, you are locked into a path for entree, sides, and dessert. Of course, none of this is clear.

The idea of a kids' menu should be that you can hand it to your child and they can pick anything from the menu. It should be easy to understand. It should have simple pricing, so that the child can make their empowered selection, even if they aren't yet able to add yet... It should make things simpler. If the employees don't understand it, why would your customers?

We ended up paying extra to get Avery the dessert she wanted, which was pictured on the menu, but not part of 'her' meal....

Then, on a different day, we went to a Pizzeria Uno (www.unos.com). Though their kids' menu has a much nicer layout, only certain meals come with an option of side choices for free. Everything else, including the kid's drink and dessert, is an extra fee! What is the appeal of a kids' menu when you don't end up saving a significant amount of money? Pizzeria Uno charged us $1.75 for a kid sized lemonade. Seriously? The chain couldn't roll that into the cost of the meal?