Earlier is too. If you're wondering whether taking them to a restaurant is worth the bother, sometimes it is. For some busy families, vacations may be the only time they eat meals together on a regular basis. Child development experts note that eating out can be a good learning experience for the kids. They can learn appropriate ways to behave in public places and see how other families interact as well.
Any child can hold still for a story.
Los Angeles pediatrician Neal Kaufman, director of primary pediatrics at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, says cards always worked for his older ones. No matter what their ages, don't expect any child to sit in a car or plane for hours and then sit quietly in a restaurant for two more. Then they'll be ready to sit. More restaurants will oblige these days. Let them make a meal of soup and a potato, or an appetizer and desert.