The thread about letting kids go to the restroom got me wondering about this: Let's say you're the only adult with your child in a restaurant, and you need to go to the restroom. Do you leave your child sitting alone at the table?
My son just turned 4, and I've done this 3 times in the past few months, with no negative consequences. Once we were at a familiar local diner where he and the waitress are pals. Once we were in a crowded Panera in a suburb we rarely visit, seated at least 50 feet from the restroom with several barriers between. Once we were in a very homey family restaurant, in a totally unfamiliar place on a road trip, at the table right outside the restroom.
The odd thing is, my son normally hates to be alone and therefore wants to go everywhere with me. But it seems that when he's settled in a restaurant, either eating or drawing while he waits for the food, because there are other people within sight he doesn't feel he's being left alone.
I certainly would rather have privacy in the restroom than cram him into a stall with me. In a place like Panera where you choose your own table, I like having someone "guard" the table while I'm gone rather than leave a bunch of our stuff unattended to "mark our territory".
If you don't do this, why not?
My son just turned 4, and I've done this 3 times in the past few months, with no negative consequences. Once we were at a familiar local diner where he and the waitress are pals. Once we were in a crowded Panera in a suburb we rarely visit, seated at least 50 feet from the restroom with several barriers between. Once we were in a very homey family restaurant, in a totally unfamiliar place on a road trip, at the table right outside the restroom.
The odd thing is, my son normally hates to be alone and therefore wants to go everywhere with me. But it seems that when he's settled in a restaurant, either eating or drawing while he waits for the food, because there are other people within sight he doesn't feel he's being left alone.
I certainly would rather have privacy in the restroom than cram him into a stall with me. In a place like Panera where you choose your own table, I like having someone "guard" the table while I'm gone rather than leave a bunch of our stuff unattended to "mark our territory".
If you don't do this, why not?
Money has always been tight, and going to a restaurant is generally a social thing that I'd do with another adult friend or relative. So we'd take turns going to the restroom, and generally I'll ask if anybody else needs to go when I do. Generally, my daughters needed to use the restroom as often as I did, so if we were all out (say, shopping) we'd simply go to the public restroom together. By the time DS was past toddlerhood, my daughters were old enough to watch him while I went to the restroom alone.
Follow Mothering