Welcome to parenthood . Your kid was probably fussy because it was a strange environment . You might have traveled some time to get there , so your kid was tired . The place was noisy so your kid couldn ' t get settled down in his or her head . Your kid was probably hungry too , which makes it so they can ' t settle down . Then once they finally get settled down they ' re even more hungry because they ' ve been exerting energy to cry . They ' re hyperventilating , which can cause an upset stomach , and they can ' t figure out how to stop . What you should do is make it fun for him or her . One of you have to sit at the kid ' s table and basically spoon feed them until they can take over on their own . Make them laugh and giggle if they ' re fussy , that ' s the only thing that ' ll get them to stop crying sometimes . You can also take them outside and just walk around . We actually talked to our son when he got overwhelmed and started bawling , we told him to calm down in a calming voice and take deep breaths . We even breathed with him in and out a couple times to entice him to take those breaths . After his lungs were full of air again he was able to stop and settle down . We talked with him to find out why he was upset , we didn ' t just tell him to do something . Then we would reason with him , allowing him to think that he was getting what he wanted but in reality we would get him to do what he needed to do . After he calmed down we would always give him a hug . Remember that being a parent means sacrificing what you think should be a perfect family gathering for the benefit of others . You can ' t get mad at a 1 year old for ruining a dinner when you ' ve had 20 or 30 years of dinners before him . You know the routine , the craziness , the tiredness , the anxiety .