Insights

What Families Want from Restaurants

Recently, C3 fielded a large-scale study with over 1,000 parents of kids ages 3–9. This study confirmed what we already know by heart: Families want kid-friendly restaurants. In fact, the vast majority (75%!) of parents told us that it’s very important for restaurants to be kid friendly.

Infographic stating “3 in 4 parents say a restaurant’s kid-friendliness is very important when choosing where to eat,” alongside a pie chart showing 75% “very important,” 23% “somewhat important,” and a small unlabeled remainder.

Families are high-value customers for restaurants.

Why are families important to restaurants?

First, families are a larger portion of restaurant traffic than many brands expect. According to Circana, parties with kids 12 and under make up ¼ of restaurant traffic**! That’s because, as we all know, kids don’t come alone. Kid-friendliness is the table stakes for getting Millennial and Gen Z parents to choose your brand for their next meal.

Infographic stating that families with kids 12 and under account for 24% of restaurant traffic, shown beside a purple pie chart.

Secondly, parties with kids drive higher checks. When kids 12 and under are present, average restaurant spend is 100% higher (that’s twice as high!)**. Family visits are extremely valuable to your brand.

Infographic stating that when kids 12 and under are present, the restaurant check is “2x” or twice as high as when kids are not there, with bold text, a red rocket icon, and a blue border.

The key to kid-friendliness: Food + Fun

So, what does it take to drive families to your restaurant brand? Food + Fun!

Food
In our recent study*, we found that the #1 thing parents look for in kid-friendly restaurants (whether QSR or full service) is a kids’ meal or kids’ menu with food their kids enjoy and kid-appropriate portions.

Fun
Not far behind food, at #2, is fun—i.e., kids’ entertainment like kids’ meal toys or activity menus and crayons that give kids a moment of joy and make them want to come back!

Parents told us:

“Toys in kids meals always make kids excited to go there!”

“Little touches like crayons, activity sheets, and fun kids cups make the experience more exciting for children and help keep them occupied so the whole family can enjoy the meal.”

“The toy that comes with the kids meal makes it fun for them!”

“A small toy or prize makes the meal feel special.”

“Food + Fun” is the way to meet families’ expectations of restaurants. We, at C3, want to help your brand meet—and exceed!—those expectations when it comes to fun. Interested in learning more? Let’s get in touch!

* Source: C3 Kid-Friendly Restaurant Study, Feb 2026, n=1002 parents of kids ages 3-9
** Source: Source: Circana, Inc/CREST®, year ending Dec. 2025, data for parties with kids <13. Excludes beverage-only occasions.

About C3

C3 is an industry-leading design and brand marketing agency with more than 38 years of experience creating connections with customers, from families with children to Gen Zers. We provide insights, strategy, creativity and supply-chain expertise to build smart marketing programs around fully custom products, like kids’ meal toys, collectibles and other branded entertainment. We design and produce brand experiences you can touch — and that’s more powerful than a marketing message alone. A C3 product ignites a moment of joy and creates brand loyalty that lasts.