For busy parents, eating out is like heaven. There are days when you don’t have the energy to cook, clean the mess afterward, wash dishes, or even order take out. You just want to sit down and be waited on. Dining out can also be a great way to relax and bond with the family – that is, if your kids are well-behaved and everything goes really well at the restaurant. Otherwise, it will just be another thing to add to your already long and stressful day.

Eating out can be an amazing experience for kids. This is an opportunity for them to develop social skills, learn table manners and etiquette, and experience new flavors all at the same time. While this is a great opportunity to teach your kids to explore new dining situations and have a taste of different food, for some parents, it can be daunting.

With some planning and practice, eating out with kids does not need to be excruciating. Here are some tips that will help you and your family enjoy peaceful and happy meals out:

Start practicing at home

Train your kids first before venturing out to a restaurant. Practice appropriate table manners at home. Invite some stuffed animals, dolls, or even friends to a snack or a tea party. Pretend that you are all in a restaurant and role play good choices such as using utensils, waiting patiently, and sitting still. Also, it is best to put an emphasis on table manners at every meal at home. By doing so, your child will be able to better understand and follow rules when eating out if they know what is expected of them at the table.

Choose the restaurant carefully

Remember that not all restaurants are kid-friendly. If you are craving for sushi, sadly, this is not the best moment to bring your child with you. Your cravings will have to wait. Be realistic in your expectations before deciding to eat out with your toddler. Choose a restaurant that offers a kid-friendly menu, where orders can be done quickly and waiting for the food to arrive will not take too long. Controlling a toddler may be difficult if you are overly worried about the tablecloth and expensive china. So bringing them to a fancy restaurant should be off the list as well.

Respect your child’s attention span

Waiting for your order to arrive when dining out in a busy restaurant is a test of patience for most adults. Imagine how difficult it must be for children who have a shorter attention span. Choosing a hometown favorite where everything is busy may not be a good idea. Consider fast casual restaurants instead. While fast food chains are quicker, the food served is really not healthy and you will just worry about being  responsible for childhood obesity problems. Fast casual food chains are reasonably affordable, comfortable and offer dishes that are healthier and of higher quality than fast-food restaurants. They also serve quickly and you will not have to worry about your child’s short attention span.

Bring activities to keep them busy

When dining out with toddlers, bring along some small puzzles or coloring books to keep them occupied while waiting for your food. You can also play simple games such as “Simon Says” or “I Spy”. Avoid checking your phone. Instead, focus on activities you can do with them. Check out restaurants that also include activities for kids on the menu. Some may not offer it automatically, but if you ask, some restaurants may have amazing kids’ packs.

Set expectations ahead of time

Training at home helps your child remember the manners they are expected to have when eating out. Be clear with how they must act and the consequences if they break the rules. You can tell them that if they don’t behave, their dad will take them out of the restaurant while the rest finish eating. It is not a form of punishment –it is just an indication that your child is not ready yet. Have more training at home and try again. Always stick to the consequences and make sure there is a follow through.

Here at Young Scholars Academy, we make sure that children are taught the right behavior as well as the skills that will help them become responsible adults. For more information, please feel free to visit our website.

Cooking with your children can seem to some like an overwhelming task. You want to rush some nights to get home and get dinner going. During that time you have kiddos begging for snacks at your feet like little puppies while trying to read and carryout a recipe. Instead of looking at this like a distraction, turn their attention into a positive interaction with you! Make cooking count. Make this time a memorable time with your children when you can.

Let go a little

Some things to focus on, first of all you have to lose a bit of the control factor. Depending on your child’s age will depend on how much they are able to help. It was so great to see my preschooler when he was a toddler be curious about cooking. I would let him sit with me and help when he could as I verbally went over things in a fun way with him and let him explore safely with the cooking utensils and tools. This kept him entertained and busy while I was able to get the cooking done. As he has grown into the preschool age he is able to do a lot more. I must let go of my control a bit in order to allow him to be creative and have fun with me when I cook. Not always will he start stirring slow enough so that things don’t go flying, but if I don’t let him see this he will not learn and get the full experience. It’s a mess worth making!

Make extra time

You also need to allow yourself the extra time to cook with your child. If your dinner needs to be done by a certain time, allow for the bit of extra time it will take to have your little one fully help. What I like to do is have my preschooler make part of the meal and I introduce different dishes a little at a time depending on the menu. His favorite thing to make is dessert! While it is fun to make the sweet treat and lick the spoon, I want to expose him to all categories of making a meal. I have to make sure that I allow the extra time, so I don’t stress myself out trying to get dinner done “on-time”.

Read out the recipe

A great thing to focus on is reading the recipe to your preschooler. This is a big opportunity to expose him/her to print they probably wouldn’t see elsewhere at this age. They are beginning to read and write and there as a great mix of both letters and numbers here! I like to have my preschooler seek and find the numbers as I read the recipe, then we read the whole line together, and then preform the cooking task.

As you can see from the photos, we worked on a recipe together making Cole Slaw. My kiddos love salad! I get asked often, “How do you get them to like salad?!!” The trick is I let them explore salads I order or make. Luckily grew to loving them! I try to always offer one thing on their plate that is a favorite and salad is a go to! Having my preschooler make Cole Slaw with me also encouraged him to be more eager to try it. I was able to hook him with “You made this part of the meal, you should be so proud, it will taste extra yummy since you made this!” Getting him excited to try it for the first time as an older kiddo was exciting and now he loves to help make it!

Bottom line is…make cooking with your child count! Be adventurous in your meal choices and expose your kiddos to different tastes. Pretend you’re on a cooking show and be animated and fun! Create an opportunity for your child to form a lasting memory with you while exposing them to literature and numbers. Great conversations tend to start in the kitchen, start exposing your children to this at an early age. Cooking not only produces meals, but also great connections.

-Ms. Whitney
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator

One thing we cannot pass up is a target shopping run! I mean who doesn’t love cruising through the aisles with a Starbucks drink in hand, checking out the dollar spot as long as your heart desires. Ohhh wait…. that was before kids-haha! Now, add in the grocery list that’s a mile long and two kiddos that want all the things and feel that it’s the right time to act out a scene from Braveheart. Screaming and talking so loudly that everyone can hear. It’s not realistic to think EVERY time we go to the store with our kiddos it will be an easy experience, most of the time it feels like organized chaos. There are so many factors to take in as well:

• is the store busy?,
• are you going around nap time?,
• are you going right after school (when they want your attention more)?,
• are you when someone doesn’t feel good?,
• are you are in a bad mood?,
• or maybe because it’s Tuesday.

With SO many things going on, I think it’s important to take some things into consideration before you head out to make it easier on yourself.

Plan for the trip back

First, before you even leave for the store clear off your counter tops. Seems like a silly thing to do but you are making it easier on yourself in the long run. I don’t know about you, but I only make one trip inside. If I must, I shut the hatch with my pinky finger and a roundhouse kick… well that’s how I roll. When you Hulk carry your groceries inside its really nice having a clean work space! You are not scrambling to find a place for all the bags and it makes unloading everything a lot faster with more space.

Turn shopping into an experience

When you are going to the store make sure you are ready for battle! Just in case that Braveheart scene starts to break out in the cereal aisle. For my kiddos, they do pretty well for about the first 20 minutes or so. Then after that I start to see them wilt a bit. I try to include them in the shopping experience as much as possible at his point by letting them hold the list, check things off, and help me find items. All these actions not only keep their attention but are also fine motor, letter and number recognition skills that you can sneak in on the fly. For my preschooler, I use the following prompts:

• On the list can you find letter ‘B’, what does the spaghetti sauce look like(what color),
• can you help find something that is yellow in this aisle,
• how much is this(what number do you see),
• do you see the picture on the box-tell me a story about this(he likes to just make them up).

Using prompts like these is such a great time to spark communication and open conversations that can turn into really connecting with your child. Depending on your kiddos age, adjust the prompts to fit their level.

The popcorn trick

Another trick I like to use at Target is the popcorn. Seriously. I take my always snackin’ children to the little cafe in there and they split a bag of popcorn. Not only am I feeding the sharks a snack but also distracting them! I do this intentionally when I know I am on a time crunch or I am feeling moody. I don’t want my issue to then trickle down to them in a negative way. This is just a fun treat for them every now and then and they know that it’s not something we do EVERY time.

These are just a few small tricks that can really make a difference. I feel that being aware of how you are feeling as you walk into the store is really the biggest game changer. If you are moody and not ready to take on the store with your kiddos, then DON’T. Give it an hour and try again, or just go tomorrow if it can wait. Make trips to the store feel like a success not a sinking ship.

-Ms. Whitney
Lead Pre-Kindergarten Teacher
Curriculum Coordinator

Time is so valuable that it is the most important thing you can give to your family, especially to your children. They will not be young forever. One moment they are cuddled in your arms, the next, they are already starting high school. And the time you spent with them will be like precious jewels and embedded in their minds forever.

Some people believe in the concept that time is money. Ignoring the fact that family time is as important and more meaningful, they spend most of their time at work, seeking livelihood to support their families. A study from the Mental Health Association based in the UK indicates that 4 out of 10 employees are neglecting other aspects in their life. They work long hours forgetting to spend more quality time with family and friends.

So, how important is it to spend time with your family? Here are a few benefits of family time that should not be ignored:

Stronger family bond

The main and most important reason why you need to spend more quality time with family is to develop ties and bond with your loved ones. As your kids grow older, they tend to join gangs or wrong groups of friends because they are more welcome. They want to be a part of a family. That is mostly what happens to kids who did not spend enough time with their parents when they were growing up.

Children need a sense of security and belongingness. They need someone they can look up to as a role model and turn to when things get hard. If a family spends more quality time together, a deep and strong family bond develops.

More time to talk and listen

In every family, there will always come a time when the need to share, talk and listen arises. Most adults think that talking and listening to their children is difficult to do as kids think differently than them. Truth is, most children will become more attached to the grown-ups who take time to talk and listen to what they really feel.

Listen without judgment, jumping into conclusions, or criticism. When you listen to your children, do not just hear them out. Feel the message they are trying to convey – empathize. When your child comes to you with something important, focus your attention to them. Show them that you are involved in the whole conversation. Talk directly to them, especially teenagers about the side effects of drugs and alcohol. Always set a good example. Remember that kids always follow by example.

Instill family values to children

In a world where divorce has increased rapidly over the years, one of the many benefits of family time is to instill in your child’s mind the importance of family values and build a sense of worth. Children tend to imitate. If you are an absent parent during most of their growing up years, the tendency for them to become one is higher.

Learn important lessons in life

Home is where your children will first learn most of the things they know in life. If you do not teach them life’s important lessons at home, they will learn it or look for it somewhere. While at some point, your kids will have to learn things on their own, it is still important for a family to have time for discussions. Put forth your situations or problems in front of them. Have an open discussion with your kids, ask for their opinions, and together come up with a solution. By doing this, you will be able to help them learn to better understand life’s situations in a positive way.

Help and connect better with your kids

Parental involvement is one of the most overlooked aspects of children’s education today. Most parents don’t realize how important their involvement is in their child’s learning. Family members should take the time and effort for this. Most children who have more involved parents are likely to continue to go on higher education, achieve superior test scores, finish school with higher honors, behave better and will have a positive outlook in life.

Your involvement can be like reading a bedtime story, checking their homework, discussing their progress at school with their teachers, getting involved in PTA, or anything that is related to their academic progress. It can also be as simple as asking them how their day was.

Final Thoughts

While providing financial support is also important to your family, do not neglect the fact that your kids need you physically as well. You need to really make an effort and find ways to spend more quality time with family and make the moments as fun and memorable as possible. Children grow up really fast. Don’t waste the time you have at the moment and be with them as much as possible. The more quality time you spend with the stronger your family unit will be. And strong families are able to withstand crisis and setbacks with a positive outlook, shared values, and beliefs that will help them overcome any challenges.