ParentWonder

Helping Parents Succeed

Choosing a safe restaurant for kids

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Just recently, my daughter celebrated her 4th birthday. Nothing fancy, we spent a night out for dinner, just with some close family members. Just to have some fun.

My wife has been eyeing this new Japanese restaurant and this occasion gave us a valid reason to patron this outlet. We received some "good" feedback from friends. So we decided unanimously to go for Japanese food without a second thought.

Upon reaching the restaurant, there were about 6-7 persons in the queue. "The food here must be good!" I said to myself.

On normal days, I’d have turned away as I’m famous for why queue up to pay money while there are other good restaurants around. Not worth the waiting. But that’s a different story, I’ll save it for another day.

Back to the restaurant…

After waiting for a while, a table was made available to us: five adults with three toddlers. Only then did I realize that the space was small and I have to squeeze in (for my size, at least) to be seated. But that’s still okay as the benches were big enough for us.

What amazed me was the hot water tap was just located near the wall and it’s within reach so that we could help ourselves while we enjoy a cup of Japanese green tea.

I didn’t say it out that maybe it’s a good idea to let my daughter sit near the aisle, furthest from the tap. Somehow I didn’t get this message out to the gang.

Soon I regretted of not doing this. While my wife was filling up mugs with hot water, she accidentally hit a mug and splashed some hot water onto our daughter. It’s so sudden and my daughter didn’t expect this, the only thing she could do was screaming and crying. It’s possibly due to the pain as well.

My wife quickly brought her out of the restaurant and I asked for some toothpaste from one of the staff to help my daughter soothe her pain and possible burns. Better still, the staff gave us Savlon to apply.

Luckily, it didn’t pose any danger as the burn was minimal and it’s almost recovered upon reaching home from our dinner.

Then only I sighed with relief.

However, when the moment it happened and for the first time as a dad, it’s heart wrenching to see my daughter suffer in pain. I just can’t describe the feeling. Now I know how many thousand times more terrible it is for parents who lost their children. You’ll never understand until you experience it yourself.

We immediately changed restaurant. Tell you what, of course to a more family friendly and child friendly one. A place which was not as crowded, more spacious with more breathing space. At least we had our dinner with peace of mind there.

Phew! That was close and this hot-water-splashed-on-my-daughter incident teaches us don’t take things for granted and we must think for the kids’ safety before we step into any restaurant.

For the moment, my wife and I have struck out this restaurant from our list of restaurants, at least when our kids are around.
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Choosing a safe restaurant for kids

By

Just recently, my daughter celebrated her 4th birthday. Nothing fancy, we spent a night out for dinner, just with some close family members. Just to have some fun.

My wife has been eyeing this new Japanese restaurant and this occasion gave us a valid reason to patron this outlet. We received some "good" feedback from friends. So decided unanimously without a second thought.

Upon reaching the restaurant, there were about 6-7 persons in the queue. "The food here must be good!" I said to myself.

On normal days, I’d have turned away as I’m famous for why queue up to pay money while there are other good restaurants around. But that’s a different story, I’ll save it for another day.

Back to the restaurant…

After waiting for a while, a table was made available to us: five adults with three toddlers. Only did I realize that the space was small and I have to squeeze in (for my size, at least) to be seated. But that’s still okay as the benches are big enough for us.

What amazed me was the hot water tap was just located near the wall and it’s within reach so that we could help ourselves while we enjoy a cup of Japanese green tea.

I didn’t say it out maybe it’s a good idea to let my daughter to sit near the aisle, furthest from the tap. Somehow I didn’t get this message out to the gang.

Soon I regretted of not doing this. While my wife was filling up mugs with hot water, she accidentally hit a mug and splashed and the hot water from the mug splashed on my daughter. It’s so sudden for this to happen and my daughter didn’t expect it, the only  thing she could do was screaming and crying. It’s possibly due to the pain as well.

M
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The best gift for your child: Teaching children how to think for themselves

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We always encourage parents to teach their child to be independent and think on their foot. To us, what better gift than giving your child the ability to live and survive without our constant involvement.

Doreen Nagle shares her tips on how you can teach your kids to think for oneself. She is the author of "But I Don’t Feel Too Old To Be A Mommy." Here’s a snapshot of what you can do. And children learn from us parents by modeling, according to Doreen:

Do what I say, not what I do — or not: Too often, parents tell their children to behave one way while participating in punishable behavior themselves. For instance, mom and dad say stealing is not OK. However, both regularly helps themselves to the supply closet at work. Remember that actions speak louder than words.

Make room for preferences and temperament: It’s almost cliche to think of the football star’s child who refuses to play sports, or the math teacher’s child preferring literature. No matter how much we may hope (or push) otherwise, our child’s own temperament will always come through. Expose your children to as many healthy choices and experiences as possible, but let them lead you to their preferences. No matter how you maneuver and manipulate, you can’t put a round peg into a square hole. You can lead the horse to water, but — you know the rest.

Explain: Teach your child every value, attitude and preference you have. This is not only your right as a parent, but also your duty. Keep in mind that explaining your reasoning will help lock your preferences into your child’s value system. It also demonstrates to your child how the reasoning process works.

Ask, question, check in: There are rules, which need to be followed; there are facts, which require no further discussion; and then there are opinions. When offering your children an opinion, check to see how they feel about it. For instance, does your little one believe that green is a better choice for coloring in the background of a picture she’s drawing, or does she think another color will work better? As your children mature, raise the stakes by making them think through tougher questions. Let your children know they should listen to other people’s opinions, but they should also be discerning. Thinking for oneself — rather than being manipulated by others — is a habit to be learned.

Teaching your child problem solving skills is definitely a matured and happy adult in the making.



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Environmental Education for Kids

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The growing focus on environmental issues and the gravity of the problems related to global warming and associated environmental matters behooves us as parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and others who play a significant role in the lives of young people, to do all we can to educate children about the environment and, more important, what they and we can do to make positive changes for now and the future. At the same time, I believe the process of promoting positive changes should be as fun and engaging as possible while remaining educational and productive. Activities we can do with our children, which allow us to learn along with them and perhaps even recapture some of the wonder of the natural world in the process, seems to me to be a good approach. While searching the Internet for some ideas in this area, I found a few sites that I would like to share in the hope that parents will seriously consider educating their children and themselves about the environment and then take action. I know there are many more sites, but here is a place to start.

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How to Teach Young Children Writing: The One Tool You Need

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My daughter proudly told me last night, "Daddy, I know how to write 1 to 10."

I was surprised as this is the first time I got to know this. And I thought she was scribbling for no purpose using one of this toys called Magna Doodle.

To me, it's just a simple toy and nothing fantastic about it. But that was how I used to think about the toy. Not anymore, from now on, I will not look down on toys no matter how simple or plain they look. You can never imagine how powerful and useful a toy can be to your child.

For the past few nights, my daughter has been playing with Magna Doodle after she gets home from the nanny's house. She seems like she's hooked to it. She draws everything under the sun: self-made connect-the-dots game, writing ABC, writing 123, or things that you don't understand.

Of course, my wife and I sometimes show her how to write ABC and 123 the proper way. And that's about it. After that she writes by herself. The toy is good and you can erase anything written on it just by sliding a tiny knob at the bottom. And there you go, you can start again with a blank board. It's better than paper and pen because it's erasable, reusable and it saves trees!

Magna Doodle writing board for kids

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