High Chair Hacks: Easy dinning out tips for parents!

Hey there, fellow parents! In this episode, I'm excited to share a little trick that made dining out with my child a breeze. I discovered a simple solution to keep toys from constantly falling on the floor - using a ribbon or string to tie them onto the high chair! It was so convenient, and whenever Olivia dropped a toy, I could quickly hand it back to her without any fuss. As she grew older, we adjusted the ribbon's length to suit her needs. We even tried a small suction device, but let's just say, she had her own ideas! Tune in for more fun and helpful tips on navigating parenthood with an only child. Let's share the laughter and experiences together on Love in Focus: Building Community with an Only Child.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 0:02

Hi, my name is Four and welcome to The Love and Focus, the podcast for Mans where we explore, discover, build community with our only child. Let's get going. Okay. You know what I mean. Let's start with the program.

SPEAKER_00: 0:23

Oh my goodness.

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If you didn't know what that theme was to a TV show, it is MacGyver. MacGyver, I don't know if you remember, is the American TV show, and it played in like in the 1985s to the 1990s something. And the main character for this TV show, he could get out of any situation. I mean any with a pocket knife, one stick of bubblegum, um, a rubber band, and maybe like a paper clip and something else. Now, these five things, no matter what, this main character, MacGyver, he could get out of anything. And so with this episode, I'm just letting you know that I used a MacGyver. I was like, man. And so it was like, okay, when you go to a restaurant, and if you have a child, and they're at that stage where you put them in a high chair, you give them a toy, and then they just throw it on the ground. And then you give it back to them. And what do they do? They throw it back on the ground. Now, depending if you're like, I'm done, you're not having any more toys, or I don't even take anything so you throw anything. So, what I use when Olivia was in that baby stage when she was in a high chair, I ended up getting ribbons. Yep. I had like a ribbon. Don't ask me why at the time I had a ribbon, but I was like, hey, I'm gonna tie this ribbon to her toy. Because I had always had toys, you know, mums, we're all we have so many things in our purse. I should do an episode like, what do you have in your purse for your only child? Because most likely it's just mainly for them, like you got your snacks and everything else, but that'll be a different episode. So I had um got a ribbon, tied it to that toy, one of her toys, and when I made sure, like I measured it, that she was able to grab it, and she wasn't putting it around her neck or anything, but it was enough for her to reach her. I could put the toy on the table in front of her, and then I tied it to her high chair, and so she would pick it up in front, and it was okay if she put it in her mouth with the ribbon or whatever, if she just sucked on the ribbon, and when she threw it down, she looked at it, she went, huh. And I was like, Yeah, it did not go on the ground. Mummy is not, no, daddy is picking it up, and then she'll pick up her toy again. Or, you know, we're one of us is always sitting beside her, so we would just get the toy and you know, give it to her, and she would uh throw it. But what was fun was I did not have to reach down on the ground for the toy or even look for it, because who knows where it went, depending on how far she threw it, you know, and then you gotta clean it, and then you gotta while you clean just spritz plate, spritz brain, disaffecting it with your spray or whatever, and you gotta wipe it down because you don't want the chemicals, all this stuff you goes into our mind, my mums, and then you either gotta wait because it's not dry or whatever, or you're like, I'm done, no more toys. But this way it really worked for our family, and in the end, what I started to do, I started to get different types of ribbons. Yes, I did, and you know, I had different colors, and that way I was still introducing colours to her in a different way at the restaurant, and then I got to get different types of size ribbons, and then some ribbons had like uh a definite print on it so she could feel it, and then different textures of the ribbon because I wanted her to have fun exploring and still discovering why she's looking at things, and she'll put it inside her mouth and she'll eat it, but it didn't bother me one bit, so I always made sure the ribbons were safe. Uh because you know, at that stage, depending if you're child, I mean, maybe some child some children out there, like, no, my child doesn't put anything in their mouth, they're cool. Okay, that's awesome. My child was not like that, exploring all their senses, and so yeah, I had different color color color uh what color is that colour ribbons, and there were different textures and different size, but I did not have like five toys out in front of it, I always had one or two, and then I could exchange it, you know, depending on how long we're sitting at the the restaurant or the location, and that way she is entertaining herself. Her father and I could just enjoy the conversation without having to like, uh, gonna pick up this, it's your turn. And it worked for us. I would recommend one or two, or maybe one, because you know, mums, we always have toys in our bag, you know, and it might be like, well, this is their restaurant toys, or you know, when we go to certain places is their favorite toy, so they stay in more engaged, and that way, um we didn't mind uh going to the restaurant with her because I it just took me a little bit uh to make sure I had my ribbons and I put them in a plastic bag, and um that way, you know, I was well prepared. And it might take a little bit of time just to prepare, like if I don't have any ribbons around my house, and what am I gonna use? I would recommend something that because remember they're gonna put it inside their mouth. So if you're using a string, make sure it's safe. Make always make sure it's safe as well, because you know, you don't want them to cut themselves or get tangled up. Uh, I always use ribbons that were safe for her if she's gonna suck on it, and then the length is not too long. You know, it was short enough for her to, you know, tie it to the high chair, but the toy was in front of her, and she could pick it up easily, and if she wanted to um wave it around, not to, you know, not everywhere, she wasn't swinging it, like a yeeha. No, it was for her to engage in it so her father and I could still enjoy a meal, have a conversation, and you'd be surprised a lot of people walk past us and like that is such a great idea, and I was like, I know, right? It is, it's a Macaiba. I would say to myself, I'm like, Yes, it is, and there might be some devices. Um there was one at the time, and I think it was kind of like an apple suction uh device where this plastic apple, you put it on the table, it had a little suction thing at the bottom, and you open up the apple and some plastic, like I don't know what you call it, not strings, but they would come out attachments, and you can attach it to the toy. Same concept. Um, Olivia liked it as well, so I had that, but depending on how you know how she was feeling, she would just rip this, rip the apple off the table, and it's because it depends on the table as well. Um, some tables, you know, no matter how much you stick that apple on, and we use other devices well, it just wouldn't stick as well, but she surely did enjoy that the apple section. And I tried different things trying to um stick it on, you know, some devices, and it just didn't work as well, as well as the um the ribbon, and you can just have fun with a ribbon. Uh, and you might find some other devices. I know some parents have um like electronics, and that works for them. So, whatever works for you, or some parents like, no, I don't take anything at all. My child is just happy to sit there, and they just engage with their food. That's awesome as well. Whatever works for you, but I'm just saying if you're looking for something different and you want to take some toys, but you really don't want to pick it up, like how's that I know schwarzenegger? Yeah, pick it up, put it down, pick it up. Okay, you're like, that does not sound like I know schwarzenegger, up and down, up and down. Then um, I would highly recommend using ribbons. Uh, because it worked for me in that way as well. So let me know um if you have any more ideas in the comment, leave a comment or feedback on what you think. Um, because you know you're going out to a restaurant and you're taking your little one, um, maybe because you don't have a babysitter, you know, in your location and you don't know who to trust your your baba with, or you don't have any family right now as well, to um to watch a child for you know an hour or two, or you're just like our family. We just enjoy going together as a family, and we want to enjoy that time. So we just found a better way of you know really engaging our time without having to go cray cray. So, mom, I want to say that um, you know, you're listening to this. I just want to remind you, you are the best mom for your family. You're the you know, you're an awesome wife, you're doing the best you can with the time that's given. And if you're on a bus listening, you're going to work, you know, thank you for listening. You are the best mom for your child. You know, you're going out there, you're building your dream, you know, you love what you do, or you're like, you know, I just want to make some extra money on the side, or I just want to learn about some other things, and I enjoy doing what I do, and I have an only child. You know, congratulate yourself because you're evolving, you want to explore more, discover more. I, you know, that is awesome. So I just wanted to remind you just how wonderful and amazing, amazing you are. You know, you come home, you feed your family, and then you probably do the dishes or laundry, vacuuming, or whatever you do, you're doing something. It's a lot, and you serve so many people. And so I just wanted you to hear my heart that you like, you might want you might be wondering, does anyone see me? Does anyone know of what I'm doing? I see you, and the mums who are the mums who are listening, we see you too, even though there's not a lot of no one say we see you, we see we appreciate you, and we know what it's like to have an only child. So I wanted to say well done. And I always remind my mums who are listening to this, you know, if you want to have a friend, you gotta be a friend as well. And I wanted to encourage you to be a friend to yourself. What does it look like? It's saying kind words to yourself, it's encouraging yourself, it's speaking to your heart, and just smiling and celebrating who you are, because you are amazing, you know, you're very supportive of your husband, you're helping your child grow and be the best who they can be, and then you're encouraging yourself, and you're in a new environment or you're in a new season, and you're like, Boy, I do a lot, yes, you do, you are, and so that's why I wanted to let you know as a mom of an only child that I get it, and I'm only uh of a child who is six years old, just letting you know, you are amazing, and for all the ups and downs and laughter that we go through, and sometimes there are days where you're like, uh that whoopsie daisy, what was that all about? And some days you're like, Oh my goodness, I need a Macaiva day, or other days you're like, nope, I just want to have a chippy and a chocolate day, and that is it. Whatever day you're feeling, I just wanted you to hear my heart and say how much you know we appreciate you, we absolutely do value you and what you bring because of who you are, and so I wanted you to encourage, and I'm so thankful that I that you get to listen, we get to listen, that I get to talk to you because as you can hear, I pretty much I wanted to do this channel to let you know in the episode, hey, here's an experience, went to a restaurant, had to get ribbons because I just wanted to find a way where it'll be more enjoyable for my family and I to sit together without having to say, uh, this is so annoying. I didn't want to, you know, give a I didn't want to give that vibe out to my daughter and saying what you're doing is annoying, and we don't have enough time, we don't have a wonderful time. I wanted her to know, Daddy and I love you. Um we just found that mommy found uh a better solution so we could all just have fun while we're together because she's learning and growing, you know, they're a toddler and they just love to at their stage throw things or just to explore and discover as we are doing as adults. I'm sure we may not be throwing our toys, but I know like metaphorically, I'm probably throwing something, and you know, I got to learn. Hey, there's a better way of doing that. So, mom, thank you for listening, and I so appreciate it that you came to this podcast, love in focus, building community with our only child, and we're discovering and exploring it with our only child whom we love, and we're the best child, best mom for them. So, thank you for listening once again. This is for keep love in focus one episode at a time. I will meet you in the next episode. Bye.