'Baby Tax': The cost of bringing your kid out to eat

 Have you ever questioned bringing your teething infant or off-the-walls toddler to lunch at your favorite restaurant for dread of how additional restaurant patrons or the staff may react to your child? For one mom dining in a London based Cosmos restaurant, her bill included a charge for bringing along her six-week-ancient. The charge wasn't for a kid's meal or a beverage, but for the space the child took up while being in the restaurant in what is being dubbed a 'baby tax'. 

In her November 30th, 2011 article for the Huffington Post website titled London Restaurant Charges Moms A 'Baby Tax', Emma Gray reports that Natasha Young, a 34-year ancient mother, was charged an extra £3 (about $5.00 U.S.) for the space her child was occupying in the London based Cosmo restaurant. The article goes on to clarify that the Cosmo Restaurant implemented this "Minimum Charge Policy", which can be found on the Cosmo website, as a way bill parents appropriately for what their toddlers eat if they eat less than the standard kids parts at the restaurant, and was not intended for babies. Cosmo also apologized to Young for the mishap. While this policy may be intended to help curb expenses for parents, many are finding the policy unsettling and calling it a 'baby tax'. 

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If this has you wondering whether or not you should just order delivery or on-the-go meals, consider packing a healthy homemade meal or snack for your toddler or infant or share your own meal instead of spending the extra cash on a kids meal they may not end. When allotment restaurant food with your child, make sure that the ingredients and preparation are suitable for your child's age and intake skills. Both the Wholesome Baby Food and the Wholesome Toddler Food websites provide simple, healthy, home made options for feeding your baby or toddler.

If you are concerned that your favorite restaurants may adopt a similar policy to Cosmo's, question your server about their children's dining prices and polices before placing your order. 

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