Tag Archives: kids

Help homeless kids, be happy

28 May

Looking for a great way to spend a Friday night? Enjoy  animated classics and rock out with Caspar Babypants at the Ballard Community Center on Friday, 6/1.

This event is part of a series called “Kids Helping Kids Music & Movie Nights” organized by Wellspring Family Services. Wellspring is celebrating 120 years of helping Seattle area families through hard times.

Wellspring helps families avoid eviction, find housing, recover from domestic violence, and heal from the trauma of homelessness. It’s an amazing organization that deserves your support.

You can help in a variety of ways, from donating right now (click here, it’s that easy) to collecting coins to attending a Music & Movie Night. The next event is Friday, June 01, 2012 from 6:30pm to 8:30pm in Ballard. The Ballard Community Center is located at 6020 28th Avenue NW, Seattle, WA.

Tickets are $15 and include kid-friendly refreshments & treats from Pepsi, Majestic Bay Theatre, Cabot Creamery and more! Wine from Silverlake Winery and Beer from Maritime Pacific Brewing Company will also be available for the grown-ups. These shows often sell out–get your tickets now!

Don’t miss this chance to go out, get happy!

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Pit of despair

23 May

While Vios on Capitol Hill is often quite delightful and the public space in Lake Forest Park Third Place has many charms, most of the time I avoid eateries that cater to parents by creating an area dedicated to small children (aka kid pits). I hate kid pits. Not because they’re germy. Not because the toys are often broken. Not even because every single place I’ve ever visited that has a kid pit is usually crazy loud and staffed by martyrs who may have once enjoyed children but now can barely make eye contact with a parent. (Though all these things are, sadly, true.)

I hate kid pits because there is a subset of parents who use their existence as an opportunity to avoid parenting. Parents who bring their children out to eat and expect to be able to ignore them. Parents who allow their children to shout, destroy things, beat on other kids and create a moving obstacle course for servers and other parents to avoid. People who bring special food into a restaurant and do not order or tip accordingly. Sure, sometimes you need to bust out the raisin stash to keep a child happy while you’re waiting for the appetizer. However, if your child can’t/won’t eat anything sold at the establishment, maybe you shouldn’t bring her there. At the very least, ask your server if outside food is permitted.  Also, please consider ordering something extra for takeout.  (Obvious exception for babies not yet on solids.)

If you want your child to enjoy dining out and to be enjoyable companions, it takes effort. Going out with kids under 10 means compromise: eating earlier (and faster), leaving before you’re really ready, bringing toys, cleaning up your mess. It means tipping better and encouraging your children to say hello, thank you, and goodbye. Parenting in public is hard, and sometimes unrewarding. It’s also critical in helping your kid become a functional member of society–totally worth the effort. I avoid kid pits because they give my kid a chance to observe (and, god forbid, practice) exactly the opposite of how we want her to behave.

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