I never thought we'd be THOSE PARENTS. The ones who let their kids watch shows on the iPad so they can actually get through a dinner out without too much shrieking. However, the other day had been a long day and at that moment, the peace and quiet and ten minutes to eat my lamb shawarma without frantically trying to keep my almost 16 month old happy, was worth it.
But since this is my first child, I'm wondering what other parents have done when it comes to TV at the table. How do you cope with your children in restaurants when they're misbehaving or just plain fussy? Is there a certain age when you transition them off of distractions like the iPad and protect family time, or is it really not a big deal?
I'd love any input anyone can give me. :)
I have usually tried to keep things closer to how my husband and I grew up, and low tech. I have a ton of crayons in our bag, and usually paper or coloring pages are to be had somewhere close. There have been a couple times when I have broken down and put on shaun the sheep on my phone to placate the littles. My father in law uses a tape measure to entertain littles. both of mine love it, and usually others just find it hilarious that a tape measure is their toy at the moment. :)
I love the idea of using a tape measure :). I will admit, we do use our iphones once in a while in a restaurant, but it's more because it's convenient and always with us. I need to start planning ahead and trying to come up with other things we can stick in the diaper bag that would keep my youngest happy when we're out and about.
Dinner buddy is what we call it. It's a backpack that is meant for toddlers....my little guy is almost 3 now. Started doing this at 18 months or so. We keep meals sacred....we aren't fans of iPhones or anything else during dinner so in came our buddy. It is filled with crayons, coloring book, miniature laser light, pipe cleaners to bend, hot wheels, stackable cups when he was younger ect....it's all about buying time and them learning to self soothe and entertain. We now rarely bring the buddy into dinner with us and solely leave it in the car. We also try and eat at places with booths and place him on the Inside and one of us on the outside which keeps him contained but not stifled.
We have used our cell phone with my daughter when she was younger but she isnt so hyper now.With my son,food is what he likes.