Dining out with the little darlings

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Be prepared. Restaurant-supplied diversions are a great treat, but don’t assume they’ll always be available. Bring some books, drawing paper, markers, stamped postcards and other activities that might keep your children quiet and entertained while they wait for their meals to arrive. Some parents say a long wait at a restaurant is a good time to declare a moratorium on the “no Game Boys at the table” rule in force at many homes.

Make it special. The promise of a mocktail, flaming dessert, pupu platter or some other “exotic” dish not on the menu at home might entice even the most fidgety child to sit still — for a while. And asking a young person to tell the waiter your order, tally the tip or add an opinion on the topic being discussed by the adults at the table can turn a boring meal into a “grown up” educational experience.

Meltdowns are for cheeseburgers. If your child has a meltdown please do not ignore their behavior and allow them to disrupt other diners. You may be accustomed to waiting out a tantrum or adept at tuning it out completely, but it is never appropriate to expect other diners to do so. Take the child to the bathroom, to the car, or for a walk outside the restaurant until they calm down. Or ask to have your meals boxed up and try again another day.

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Don’t make the waiter cry. A busy restaurant is an exciting but dangerous place. There are sharp utensils, interesting strangers at other tables and men and women rushing about with big trays filled with plates of sizzling food and cups of hot, sloshing liquids. If you allow your child to wander about or roll around on the floor, there's a good chance they’ll get underfoot and cause one of those trays to come crashing down. And that’s when tears will really begin to flow.

Break bread but don’t bite the waiter: Don’t skimp on the tip if your family’s dining adventure includes pleas for rushed service, multiple substitutions to accommodate finicky eaters, an extra dessert to replace the one that “fell” on the floor and a mashed up pile of food under the table. And if in all the commotion your child does bite the waiter, double the tip and make a beeline for the door.

ALSO ON THIS STORY

Harriet Baskas, The Well-Mannered Traveler, also writes about airports and air travel for USATODAY.com and is the author of “Stuck at the Airport.”

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