Q: How should I handle an 18-month-old who cries at a restaurant because he wants out of his high chair to sit with me or someone else at our table?

A: Some toddlers become "infected" with the activity of a restaurant, and some do not. Those who do become squirmy and demanding, and can be relied upon to begin crying - loudly.

If you're 90 percent certain a child is going to cry in a restaurant, then I recommend that for the time being you take your meals at home, in the car or at picnic areas.

If you insist upon fighting this unwinnable battle, about the only thing you can do - and should do for the benefit of other patrons - is take the child out of everyone's earshot as soon as the protests begin.