Baby Taxes + Two Moms = Good Food for Thought

Did you hear about the tax a restaurant in London has been charging parents of infants?  Apparently they decided that toddlers free-load off their parents' meals (true), and so in order to stop losing money on these hangers-on-ers, their policy called for adding on the equivalent of $5 to the bill.  (Note, the restaurant's definition of toddler starts at as young as 6 weeks.)  As a former waitress (a lifetime ago), and someone who likes to eat out frequently and has brought my child along to most places we go, I feel somewhat qualified to weigh in on this topic.

First, there are clearly some types of restaurants that young children should not go to, and I would say 99% of parents employ common sense and don't bridge the fine dining divide.  At the other end of the spectrum are all the kid-catering places, from the sensory over-loading Rainforest Cafe (ahhh!) to our personal favorite, the balloon dispensing Moe's Southwest Grill.  The real issue, of course, is that middle ground, where young children may or may not be welcome.  Our family approach to these types of places is to avoid busy hours, make sure Mateo is not starving and to order as soon to sitting down as possible.

Which leads to the whole ordering issue raised by the London baby-tax.  To order separately for the child, or not?  Typically I'm guilty of ordering something that I know that Mateo will like and then putting together a little plate for him.  Am I cheating the restaurant out of money?  I guess, but you know what, for every buffet that has made a 200% return on me, I'm not gonna sweat it.  And moreover, if you're going to tax the kiddos indiscriminately, I'd prefer to see a minimum charge on each person present in a party.  Ridiculous, but if it's all about the business model, than wouldn't that be a more comprehensive approach?  Sheesh.

Okay, and now in more uplifting news, I can't help but re-post the video of Zach Wahls, the young man from Iowa who recently testified in front of the Iowa Legislature against amending the Iowa Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage.  As the world has shown by all attention he has received, you don't have to be a University of Iowa alum in order to connect with his impassioned speech, but just for the record, I would like to add: I-O-WUH!