How often to do you find yourself at a restaurant with a fussy toddler who can’t get their mind off of the food they’re anxiously waiting for? Every time you go out to eat? Us, too! But ever since we loaded up LG’s backpack with goodies to keep her quietly entertained, we’ve been able to go out as a family and enjoy our time together!

Waiting Is Hard

I’ll be honest. I don’t mind LG getting some screen time while out and about. It can be so hard for little bodies to wait patiently and they can’t always join in on the same conversations with adults. When we find ourselves waiting while we’re trying on clothes at the store, or if we’re waiting a long time for our table to be prepared at a restaurant, our go-to iPhone app is PBS Kids. I know that the shows are appropriate and LG can usually get the idea of what’s going on in the videos without having the volume up at a level that’s disrespectful to those waiting around us.

But when it comes to sitting at the table, we put the phones away and bust out the busy backpack. Now if you follow me on Instagram, you’ve heard me warn that people give you “looks” no matter what you do. You’ll get judging looks if your kid is on a screen. But you’ll also get some strange looks when you bust out the blocks. Oh, well. At least your kid is quiet and happy, right??

What’s Inside

Our busy bag includes all of the things you see in the image above. It may look like a lot, but I’ve found that having choices keeps the peace and it’s always nice to have extra goodies when we go out with other families who have kids. All of the goodies pictured came from Target, with the exception of the Berenstain Bears books that I got as a set at TJMaxx!

“Play Packs” w/Crayons, coloring books & stickers

A bag of random stickers

Target “Dollar Spot” blocks

PlayDoh

A bag of extra Crayons

Berenstain Bears books (or any books LG is currently interested in)

Mini clipboard w/stack of paper

Twisty Crayons

Enjoy Your Meal!

This busy bag goes everywhere with us! LG uses a small faux leather backpack and loves carrying all of her fun activities herself. As soon as she starts getting restless at the table, she picks an activity and gets to work! This has truly been so helpful and allows our family to get some much needed time out of the RV without worrying about meltdowns!

If you have any tips or tricks for helping your kiddos be patient while out and about, I’d love to hear them! Send them my way!

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