Your guide to activities and fun things to do with your preschoolers, toddlers and kids in philadelphia, PA

Coping With A Picky Toddler While Eating Out

by Cecily Kellogg

May 04, 2009

Yesterday, my daughter stole a piece of cheese from another kid and ate it. It was one of those sticks of string cheese; I was so excited, I went to the store and bought more, and yes, she ate another one!

Maybe this seems like a normal thing for you, but my kid doesn't like any protein source that isn't battered and called "chicken nuggets." She seems to be willing to subsist entirely on crackers, with occasional sips of milk or juice. Getting her to try new foods, or to eat out with us at some restaurant that doesn't serve chicken nuggets, has been a nightmare. We've learned a few tips, however.

If we go out for Asian food (which with us tends to not be Chinese, but rather Thai, Vietnamese, or Japanese), she will happily eat friend tofu -- provided it comes with a sweet (not savory) dipping sauce. There is something about the fried tofu that must be very chicken-nugget like. She also happily eats rice; if she's given her own bowl she will contentedly devour the rice by herself. The only problem we find is that at Asian restaurants -- and only Asian restaurants -- she has a very hard time sitting still. We've solved this problem by ordering, and then either my husband or I takes her outside and lets her run around until the food comes. If that fails (or the weather is bad) I have downloaded (bad mommy warning) a bunch of games for her onto my iPhone, and if THAT fails, I'll go to YouTube with the iPhone and let her watch cartoons. Hey, what can I say, we like to eat out.

If we eat Mexican, we try to eat at the fast-casual type places where we get the food quickly. She will eat either rice and beans (on a good day) or a cheese quesadilla (on a bad day).

If we go to a family-style chain, of course there is plenty for her to do. They give her crayons, there are televisions blaring in every corner, and they offer a very kid-friendly menu. As an added bonus, no one glares at you for having a child making noise in a restaurant (I know that's not just a Philly thing, but MAN. It is so annoying). We prefer to eat at small local places, though, and not chains, whenever possible (tomorrow I'll post a list of my favorite family-friendly non-chain restaurants). 

How do you cope with restaurants and your kid's eating issues?

Hiring A Reliable Babysitter

by Cecily Kellogg

April 13, 2009

So, did you survive Spring Break? No? Me either.

Our daugher only spends nine hours a week (three mornings from 9am to Noon) at preschool, but those nine hours are a LIFESAVER (especially when I have Savvy Source Parenting Philadelphia columns to write, heh). Not only was my daughter's preschool closed all week last week for Spring Break, they are also closed today for Easter Monday. What the heck is Easter Monday?

We tried to find a babysitter to come to the house last week, but the young woman we hired called out sick the first two mornings and then decided to not show up today. ARG. Finding reliable babysitters seems to be incredibly difficult, so I thought I'd post a few local and national resources to help. Please offer any suggestions you have in the comments section as well!

Craig's List. This awesome free classified service is a great place to put an ad for a sitter. We've used it successfully; last summer when our daughter's preschool was closed we were able to find a woman that was a Philadelphia-school-district music teacher looking to keep herself from being "bored" for the summer. For a whopping $75 a week, she came and played with our daughter three mornings a week. It was wonderful. Sadly, it's not 100% reliable as that is where we found the sitter that no-showed today as well.

Sittercity. Complaining about our sitter situation on Twitter lead me to this awesome site that came up with over 12,000 babysitters in my "immediate" area. The greatest feature is that the sitters are screened by the site! We are planning to use this site to find someone for this summer.

Sitterfinder. Similar to Sittercity, this site is slightly easier to navigate, and lists babysitter's rates right up front. That is pretty awesome.

Other than using my mother or my best friend, it really is challenging to find someone you can trust with your children. What do you do?

99 Things to do Before Your Child Goes to Kindergarten (or at least nine of them)

by Cecily Kellogg

January 27, 2009

I've got a few years left before I have to get all of these done, and this entry is actually going to be a list in process and I'm hoping you will add your suggestions as well! My daughter (who is, and shall stay, an only child) will be three in June. This summer I plan to really enjoy my time with her and her increased mobility and agility (and attention span!). We're going to explore the  Read more...

Surviving Parenthood

by Cecily Kellogg

January 08, 2009

Lately I've found parenting to be a mite, shall we say, challenging . In other words, some days are all sunshine and giggles, and other days I end the day when my daughter goes to bed feeling as if I've been pummeled with a large, very hard board for hours on end. Toddlers are always a challenge, and my daughter is smack in the middle of her terrible twos and BOY is she pushing my buttons on a  Read more...

The Things That Really Matter

by Cecily Kellogg

January 06, 2009

Right now, my daughter has become a fighter. She rebels against EVERYTHING. She argues about EVERYTHING. She freaks out and has temper tantrums about (you guessed it) EVERYTHING. My favorite example in the last few days has been the twenty minute tantrum she had about the fact that I took my dirty bowl (note: MY bowl) from the table next to the couch and put it in the sink. She cried about that  Read more...