for the kids... and the grown ups

As a parent, I've noticed that at times the degree to which my wife and I can relax and fully enjoy something is often related to the measure by which someone has considered our kids. For instance:

• At a local dental office, we noticed that while the patient's chairs were amazing and full of much technology, there was nothing in the waiting room for kids to read or watch. We usually bring stuff ourselves, but this time we forgot and noted how this made the experience for them and for us as parents more agitated than calm. For all the money and detail spent on making the office welcoming for grown-ups, there wasn't even one "Highlights" magazine for our kids to doodle in (which, as a side note, I've found doctors' offices are the only places I've ever seen periodicals).
  
  
  
• At a local Chick-Fil-A, we witnessed how they had taken the time to install a door handle that was "kid level' as well as "adult level." To top it off (or bottom it off), they intentionally left a one-inch space below that door (so kids wouldn't jam their toes). Then there were the hand-wipes for parents they freely handed out for moms and dads to use to clean their kids hands before eating. When we did eat, we also found plastic placemats available so our kids didn't have to eat on dirty tables (which weren't really that dirty anyway).
  

We've seen this play out in other people's homes, too. Maybe you have as well, from the family who keeps a stash of kids toys on hands specifically for visitors to others who don't consider the potential danger zone a living room can be to a small child. Or how our local Wal-Mart is finding that during its conversion to a Super-Center that it needs to provide maps of the store that change each week as new things get built and old things get moved around.

Consider your home, place of business, and church - where is there room for you to help make things better and more convenient for visitor, let alone kids?

Maybe you don't need to... but what if you did?