How to Keep a Toddler Seated at a Restaurant
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Something every parent ought to make mandatory items for the “go bag” are a box of coloured pencils and some blank paper. Until I saw Gavin with his crayons and paper, I never realised how much fun a child can derive from coloured pencils (read: keep them occupied long enough for them to stay seated). As you can see in the photo above, it certainly kept these two little munchkins occupied for a while as they painted the table red – literally. Thankfully, the colours are washable, although I swear I was getting some pretty dirty looks from one of the waiters when he spotted the scribbles on the table cloth.
One comment we often receive about Gavin is that he is very well behaved. He also sits pretty well at the dinner table (by toddler standards), especially when we’re out to dinner in a restaurant. Admitedly, in the earlier days, either hubby or I (or one of my in laws, if we were out with them) would have to take it in turns to take Gavin for a walk around the shopping mall while we waited for the food to arrive. Once we discovered his love for Thomas and Friends trains and started using them to help keep him occupied, we found we could actually keep him seated sometimes for the entire meal.
It wasn’t until I was down in Singapore with my BFF, when she brought out her magic markers for her son Jack to draw, that I realised how effective coloured pencils (or pens) can be to help a toddler sit still. And since Gavin loves to draw (read: make Mummy draw trains for him), the coloured pencils serve as an excellent back-up for the days when he gets bored of his Thomas and Friends Take-Along trains.
The hubby often wonders what I put in the “go bag” that makes it so heavy. Well, I guess that’s the problem of carrying around a big bag – you tend to put everything and anything in it. Although in this case, the bulk of the weight is caused by Gavin’s water bottle and his Thomas and Friends Take Along trains (c’mon, you can’t expect to carry all that metal and not expect to feel the weight of it).
These days, the essential items for this bag are:
- two diaper changes
- wet wipes
- dry tissues
- two sets of clothes (since Gavin can get quite messy eating and sweaty running around)
- a pair of socks
- Thomas and Friends Take-Along trains (essential characters are the Gordon and James‘ tenders and Percy)
- Thomas and Friends Magnetic Board Book
- Coloured pencils and a note pad
- water
- snacks – Milo bar for bribes in the car seat, Milo packet drink, other snacks
- balloon pump and balloons for making animal balloons
- stickers for good behaviour
- reuseable bags for miscellaneous shopping purchases
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- The Wonder of a Box of Crayons
- At What Age Do Children Start Lying?
- The Poop to End All Poops
- MSG and Babies Don’t Mix!
- Baby Sense?
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[...] As usual, the kids were restless in their seats while we waited for the food, so I brought out Gavin’s trusty Pelikan colour pencils to hold them off a little longer. It worked a treat and we parents got a chance to continue our [...]
[...] in the Go-bag has always been a box of crayons (or coloured pencils). The ability of this colourful box to keep my restless toddler’s bottom firmly planted in the restaurant high chair has been nothing short of amazing. So when Gavin’s Pelikan colour pencils were running down [...]