Put Your Kids in Restaurant Recess
Let me paint a picture for you…in spaghetti sauce. What's worse than kids having tantrums and making food messes while you’re trying to enjoy yourself in a nice restaurant with friends or with a date? The realization that those out-of-control kids belong to you. Admit it: this is a scene parents know all too well.
I am a mom, but I am also a single woman living in Atlanta. Like other single women in the city, I enjoy dating and the occasional girls’ night out with my friends. When my two oldest daughters were small, I was the only one of my friends that had kids, so like a good mommy, I buckled the girls into their car seats and took them wherever I went. Unfortunately, many of the restaurants my friends and I enjoyed were not what you consider family-friendly. Besides, taking kids with you to dinner isn't always a pleasant experience. It can be downright stressful. For me, having two girls so close in age made dining out interesting with the constant bickering, one kid touching the other and my favorite complaint: “Make her stop looking at me.” My girls clearly remember me hurriedly paying for our meals and whisking them away with to-go boxes because they wouldn't behave.
If you're married then you may have the luxury of leaving the kids with your spouse while you go out with friends, but what if you want to go out as a couple and you have no relatives living in your city? Couples and single parents who don’t have friends and family around to watch the kids can always pay sitters, but that easily doubles or triples the cost of nights out.
My adventures in single mommy-hood led me to start Elegant Event Sitters, Inc., a company that provides childcare for all special events deemed adult-only. Our mantra is Party in Peace™ because at the end of the day that is really what you want for your guests, and it’s unfair to expect a child to behave perfectly during a wedding reception or in a chaotic restaurant on a Saturday night.
For date nights or other social, restaurant gatherings, Elegant Event Sitters, Inc. offers Restaurant Recess, a service that provides onsite childcare at the restaurant for a lesser cost than an in-home sitter. Our sitters are CPR and First aid certified, and they go through a background screening process. To entertain your children, sitters set up a play room in the restaurant’s private dining room or event space and treat children to face painting, arts and crafts, and games while they enjoy their meals. Meanwhile, parents Dine without Disturbance™, and so does everyone else!
Restaurant Recess’ hours typically range from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and it costs $18 per child for two hours of childcare. Children’s meals are extra. The main advantage of Restaurant Recess is kids are on site, so parents know they are safe. But, also, the service cuts down on sitter costs since parents don’t have to pay for travel time.
How it works: Visit www.restaurantrecess.com to view the month’s participating restaurants and call 1-888-262-2838 to book. Space is limited to 20 children per night.
Photo by Andrea Taylor Studio
