[This series features “toddler date” ideas for something fun and simple to do with your young child. The big picture ideas apply to any locale. Specific examples are on the Eastside of Seattle.]

If you have a baby or young toddler who is not-yet-very-mobile, and you’d like to have a meal out with your partner or a friend, try having lunch or dinner at a sushi bar with a conveyor belt that goes round and round. This ever-changing view can be a great mesmerizing distraction for your child.

Another advantage is that the food comes immediately, so you can eat quickly. If your child melts down pretty early in the evening, you can make a fairly quick escape. But it’s also self-paced, so if you’re lucky and your child stays happy, you can slow down and relax and wait for that éclair to come around a couple more times before you decide to take it.

Note, once your child can stand and move, sushi places are NOT much fun. You may find yourself frantically trying to prevent your child from grabbing all the plates of food as they go by! Wait to go again till they’re old enough to know that’s not OK.

The best place to take kids for sushi? Kura Sushi in Bellevue. They have robots that bring your drinks, and a system where every time you turn in five plates it shows a video, and when you reach 15 plates you get a prize. There is often a long wait, so go at off times like a Tuesday afternoon.

[Photo credit: from yelp review of Sushi Maru in Bellevue, WA)