Drop + Dine takes the terrible out of eating out with toddlers

Having a grown up meal out in a restaurant isn't really a luxury. It can be a survival tactic for stressed out parents who have virtually forgotten that they share anything in common besides the DNA of their children and their inability to get The Wonder Pets theme song out of their head. But figuring out the whole babysitter thing can make going out to eat more a chore than a treat.

So when Brian Kaplan, founder of Parent Play, told me they were starting Drop and Dine it sounded like a great idea. Drop and Dine lets parents eat in peace and quiet in a nice restaurant while their children are entertained and fed just steps away in the private party room of the same restaurant.

No worrying about whether your baby is crying or your preschoolers have convinced the babysitter that they ALWAYS get to eat chocolate before bedtime or that the new babysitter you just found on craigslist is rifling through your bedside table. Ugh, let's not go there...Instead, let's go out to eat with our children safely learning yoga or Spanish or playing in the Drop and Dine pop-up playspace in the next room while we sip our drinks and talk to friends we feel like we haven't really TALKED to in ages.

Three locations are taking reservations starting today in SoHo, the West village and Dumbo. Sign up for the Drop and Dine newsletter to be notified as new restaurants are added. While designed for babies, toddlers and preshoolers aged 1-5, children over 7 are welcome and are half-price. Drop and Dine costs $18 per hour for one child and a couple dollars more for each additional child. To make a Drop and Dine reservation just call 212-227-0251 or email info @ parentplay.com 12 hours in advance without the worry that they'll say they can't make it cause they have a calculus final the next day.