As he ages, we'll teach my 2-year-old (as we have taught is older sister) to sit calmly and patiently in restaurants. For the time being, though, he tends to finish his meal early and then want to be able to walk around and explore the restaurant, or to play at the table in an unacceptably distracting manner.

We'll be in Paris in October, and his mother and I REALLY do not want to miss the Parisian dining experience. I've learned that in general, kids are well-accepted in Parisian restaurants, and we're planning to dine at 7 pm, so as to be on our way out by the time the place starts to fill up. But I still think it would be best for all concerned if we could keep him reliably entertained after he's finished his meal. So we're contemplating bringing along the portable DVD player and headphones.

I've never seen that in a restaurant before, so I wonder if it strikes anyone as exceptionally tacky, or would it be appreciated for its effectiveness?