Tonight, we went out to dinner with friends from high school. It was a family affair - lots of kids of different ages in the back room of a local family hangout. It was the kind of atmosphere where it was acceptable for the kids to get up from the table and play with the video games scattered around the boarders of the room - all within my eye line. While I was catching up with a friend, I watched as Princess K (4) year old shoved Princess M (7), almost knocking her over, so that she could take a turn at a game. I immediately called them both over, told them that their behavior was unacceptable, and I put them in separate corners directly behind me. They continued to taunt and make nasty faces at each other, so they stood there longer and I turned them facing the wall. Clearly they weren't happy:
I don't normally discipline my children in such a way in public. But I also don't normally let them "run around" in a restaurant, but instead bring things to keep them occupied while sitting at the table. Because we were in a private back room, and it was a local family restaurant, I made an exception for tonight.
What do you do to help keep your children busy when you're out to dinner? Do you discipline them in public?
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