<p>
<span class="sub-title">
Activities assist parents with gaining
enough peace of mind to enjoy a meal outside the home</span><br />
by Victoria Pericon
</p>
<p>
Sheri Menelli reminisces on the days
when she first started taking her daughter, at only a few weeks old,
out to dinner in the infant car carrier. &ldquo;Every time we went out,
she fell asleep for the entire meal.&rdquo; But at the age of two her
daughter caused an interesting experience, which led to both Menelli
and her husband sitting in the restaurant beet red and the restaurant
patrons hysterical with laughter.
</p>
<p>
Now that her daughter is four and a
half and the older sister to 11 month old twins; Menelli is wiser
when it comes to restaurant dining with her children.  She suggests
parents bring a toy or something to do at the table. Crayons, she
says, are great if the child is old enough to use them. If those
don&rsquo;t work, make a game out of how quiet they can sit or how quiet
they can talk. &ldquo;I sometimes let my 4 year old pick a surprise out
of a bag that I have at home for very good behavior but this is only
after we get home.&rdquo;
</p>
<p>
Miryam S. Roddy, mother of three year
old Jaymie, agrees with Menelli&rsquo;s advice. &ldquo;I never go to any
restaurant without her distraction toys -- a set of crayons, small
pads of paper, and reusable coloring books with &lsquo;magic water
wands&rsquo;&rdquo;.  Roddy invests about $6 for some sanity at a restaurant
dinner table and allows her daughter to color each blank page until
the &quot;wand pen&quot; is filled with water. The book dries when
not used, and the pages go blank again. Jaymie can spend hours
coloring in those books.
</p>
<p>
If you are caught outside without any
drawing material and can&rsquo;t find enough things to hold onto your
child&rsquo;s attention throughout the meal; Judy Carter, a motivational
humorist, believes the best way to handle the situation is with
humor.  &ldquo;Sometimes dealing with children can be the worst thing
ever.  When out a restaurant, not only do you have to deal with your
children&rsquo;s antics, but you also have to deal with the way it is
affecting other diners.  If your kids see that they are getting to
you, there will be no stopping them.&rdquo;
</p>
<p>
Wally Adamchik, a father of two,
resorts to dining at places he knows his children would eat meals at
easily. &ldquo;I took them to a place where they would like the food &ndash;
we went to Pizzeria Uno. The kids like pizza so I thought it was a
much better option than trying to feed them spinach crepes or
something else like that.&rdquo;
</p>
<p>
Dr. Mike Wasserman, MD, General
Pediatrician at Ochsner Clinic Foundation believes that expectations
for young children should be set at a low level.  Children under 3
years of age should only be taken to extremely child friendly
establishments. Even the family restaurants (chains such as
Applebees) may be a negative experience.  &ldquo;If the child is ill
mannered, other patrons are bothered; the fight to control the child
before and during the meal may not be worth the effort.&rdquo;
</p>
<p>
Marco Hejazi, general manager of
Flatotel&rsquo;s MODA/MODA Outdoors, offers parents some advice which has
proven helpful at MODA; contact the restaurant prior to arriving, as
it will help children order once they arrive. By making reservations,
it will help with seating arrangements.  Restaurants will be able to
provide booster seats and high chairs promptly upon arrival and
position the table away from traffic.
</p>
<p>
Armin Brott, author of Fathering Your
Toddler and creator of MrDad.com urges parents not to stay out past
your baby&rsquo;s bedtime. &ldquo;Being in a new place can be stressful
enough so sit near an exit. You may need to take an upset baby out of
the restaurant. Don&rsquo;t be embarrassed if you have to leave suddenly.
Babies melt down, have blow ups and get sick.&rdquo;
</p>
<p>
<strong>
This article was written by Victoria Pericon.<br />
If you wish to use this article in any manner, you must <a href="index.php?option=com_content&amp;task=view&amp;id=51&amp;Itemid=165">request permission</a>.</strong> <br />
</p>
