Ordering Pizza for Kids
Children mostly object to texture, not flavour. Ordering for them is easier once you stop thinking of it as fussiness.
Order a plain cheese pizza, ask for it well baked, and cut it smaller than you think. That covers most children most of the time.
The reason has less to do with taste than people assume. Children object to things that are slippery, stringy, unpredictable or too hot — and a standard slice is all four.
| Problem | What causes it | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Toppings picked off | Unfamiliar texture | Plain, or one topping |
| Cheese pulled away | Long stringy melt | Let it cool, cut smaller |
| Only crusts left | Slice too big to finish | Cut into squares |
| Refused outright | Too hot to eat | Wait two minutes |
It is texture, not taste
A child who eats tomato pasta and cheese sandwiches will often refuse a margherita, which makes no sense as a flavour objection. It makes complete sense as a texture one.
Molten cheese behaves unpredictably. It stretches, it slides off, it burns, and it does not come apart the way a child expects food to. Toppings add more unfamiliar textures on top of that.
Which is why plain cheese wins so consistently. It is the version with the fewest unknowns, not the blandest.
What to order
- Plain cheese. The default, and the one that never comes back untouched.
- One topping, familiar. Pepperoni is the usual, and it works because it crisps into firm pieces rather than staying soft.
- Well baked. A firmer base holds together in small hands. A soft, floppy slice falls apart and the toppings end up on the table.
- Cut small. Squares rather than wedges. A wedge has a wide end a child cannot manage and a crust end they will abandon.
Asking for a pizza to be cut into squares is a completely normal request, and it makes more difference than any topping choice. Ray’s Sicilian is cut that way already, which is worth knowing if you are ordering for several children at once.
The mixed table
This is the actual problem most people are solving, and it is rarely addressed: adults who want something interesting, children who want plain, and one pizza budget.
Two workable approaches:
- Order a plain pizza and a topped one. The plain one is not wasted — adults eat it too, and it is the pizza that always finishes.
- Order half and half. Most pizzerias will top one half differently. It works well for a table of four and less well beyond that, because the plain half runs out first.
What does not work is ordering one heavily topped pizza and assuming children will pick around it. They will pick the toppings off, the slice falls apart, and you end up with a plate of abandoned crusts.
Heat is the real hazard
A pizza straight from the oven is hot enough to burn, and melted cheese holds that heat far longer than the crust does. It also sticks, which is what makes a cheese burn worse than a hot drink.
Give a child’s slice two or three minutes on a separate plate before handing it over, and cut it up while it cools. That is time better spent than any amount of blowing on it.
This is the one part of ordering for children that is worth being deliberate about. Everything else is preference; this is not.
Pizza parties and bigger groups
A room of children is a different problem from a family table, and the answer is more plain pizza than feels reasonable.
At a party nobody negotiates. Children take what is nearest, eat half of it, and go back to whatever they were doing. Variety that would be a virtue at a dinner table becomes a liability, because a topped pizza sits untouched while the plain one disappears.
Two or three plain cheese pizzas cut into squares will outperform a mixed order every time. If you want something for the adults, order it separately rather than expecting it to be shared.
Timing matters as much as quantity. Pizza arriving all at once means half of it is cold before anyone reaches it, so if the group is large it is worth asking for the order in two waves rather than one.
How much they actually eat
Less than you expect, and less than the adults at the table.
Two slices is plenty for most children, and under-tens often stop at one. Ordering on the assumption that everyone eats the same amount is the most common reason a family ends up with two boxes going into the fridge.
Our guide to ordering for a group works through the arithmetic properly, and if there are leftovers, reheating them well takes about five minutes.
Pizza Questions, Answered.
What pizza is best for kids?
Plain cheese, baked a little longer than usual so the base is firm, and cut into squares rather than wedges.
Why do children pick the toppings off?
Usually texture rather than flavour. Soft, unfamiliar or slippery toppings get removed even when the same child eats those ingredients in other dishes.
How many slices does a child eat?
About two, and often one for younger children. Plan for less than an adult portion rather than the same.
Should I order half and half?
It works well for a table of four. Beyond that the plain half runs out first, and two separate pizzas is the safer order.
The short version
Plain cheese, well baked, cut into squares, and given a couple of minutes to cool. Order a plain pizza alongside whatever the adults want rather than expecting children to work around it.
The Ray’s menu lists Cheese in Medium, Large and Sicilian, and the shop is open daily 10:30am to 9:00pm if you would rather call ahead.
Ray’s Pizza Team
Ray’s Pizza & Sub Shop is a neighborhood pizzeria at 95 Woodstown Rd, Swedesboro, New Jersey, serving pizza, stromboli, hot and cold subs and dinners seven days a week from 10:30am to 9:00pm. These guides are written by the people behind the counter.
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