To think you don't let children play video games without headphones on a crowded train?

[pasturesgreen]

Currently sitting on the train, longish journey. Across the aisle from me are two small boys, most likely twins, aged about 3.
Their mum has furnished each of them with their own tablet (and at this I was already they're pre-schoolers ffs) as soon as they stepped on board. So now the boys have been sitting, with their shoes firmly planted on the seats, playing at/watching some sort of cartoon type game, complete with tinny background music and cartoon sbang, boom, bang noises at FULL VOLUME!! Plus the occasional excited squeak from the boys.
Not a headphone in sight, therefore they are entertaining the whole carriage with their noises.
The mother is watching them with a blissfully oblivious smile plastered on her face and hasn't so much as uttered a peep to be quite slightly less noisy
Don't really feel I can say anything, though, as it's not the quite coach. Moving not an option either, as the train is packed.
AIBU to think you should have some consideration for your fellow travellers and not inflict on them this level of noise? Surely it's just the most basic of bad manners?

Sorry, rant over!

[mrsdavidbowie]

That would piss me off.
Ignorant woman.

[NickiFury]

Yes lack of headphones annoying. Always ensure my children have theirs. BOTH of them, on BOTH of their tablets as they too have one each .

[GlitzAndGigglesx]

It can be annoying but so is the second hand sound of blaring music or whatever with headphones on

[Littlefish]

Could you politely ask her if she could either turn the volume down, or give them headphones? It obviously hasn't even occurred to her that it might be ridiculously annoying for anyone sitting nearby.

[NoSOHisadealbreaker]

I cannot possibly disagree with you on the headphone thing. Of course you're right and it's v inconsiderate.

But your whole OP oozes disapproval on so many levels: excited squeaks; feet on seats; some sort of cartoon type game; a tablet EACH!!!!!


Okay, feet on seat not perhaps the best idea (but I've seen worse) and the rest is just little boy stuff. And the sound of children enjoying themselves is never bad, surely?

So YANBU on the headphone front but I fear the irritation over that is making your a smidge U in other areas.

[achieve6]

YANBU
So annoying. I don't know what planet these people live on.

[Imustgodowntotheseaagain]

Do you have a tablet handy? Start watching something with Truly Inappropriate Language as loud as possible and she if she says anything

[RiverTam]

Unfortunately do many people go this now it's hard to ask one person to stop ur because they'll just point to everyone else. If you can't see anyone else around doing this then I would say something.

[Earlybird]

YANBU. Don't know what you can do about it though. Maybe put your own headphones on so their noise doesn't bother you?

Fwiw, I had a similar experience the other day. Took dd out for lunch in a casual restaurant (not fast food). The table next to us was 3 grown women and a young boy (maybe 5 or 6 years old?). He was handed the i-pad and proceeded to play a game with loud sound effects while the women chatted happily. You'd think the boy would either have headphones on, or volume on low/off. But nooooooo!

[pasturesgreen]

Oh, Imustgodown, I adore your idea!
Way to go!

[RosePetels]

Very inconsiderate and annoying

[ListenWillYou]

I think you should politely ask her to turn the volume down. Why wouldn't you? If she declines you are no worse off and you can legitimately implement imustgodowntotheseaagains plan

The noise would irritate me too.

[MummaGiles]

Complete lack of consideration for other people. So rude. This is one of my real pet peeves.

[carlajean]

I was in this situation and was lucky in that the woman sitting near me said to the mother, really nicely, if she could turn the sound off. The mother seemed to be genuinly taken by surprise, but fished a pair of headphones out of her handbag and plugged him in. I think that some parents have no awareness of how inconsiderate they are unless someone points it out

[CalebWomble]

Jeez, I don't let my kids play anything that makes a noise anywhere that I can hear it, let alone in public. I'd be driven mad.

Ask her to turn them down, if you dare?

Or start watching "The Thick of It" ;)

[musicalbingo]

I seriously wonder wtf these people are thinking/where they are raised.

It's outrageous and I am always amazed people aren't more vocal about it...

[toomuchtooold]

TBH OP as a mother of twins she is probably acutely aware of how annoying everyone finds her kids*... I can see how the lack of headphones is annoying but it's probably better than the alternative of two bored toddlers who will goad each other into mischief...

*yes, I am a mother of 3 year old twins. Not the ones on your train. Mine are acting out Let it Go for the 10000000th time today in the privacy of their own home (but I suspect the neighbours can hear them anyway).

[CalebWomble]

So if she just put headphones on them, they'd be happy and everyone on the train would be happy. It's not either they have their game blasting out or they're bored.

I don't have twins, but I did have 4 kids within 6 years and many long train journeys!

[howtodrainyourflagon]

I'm live and let live on the headphones issue. But I would ask the children to remove their feet from the seats and involve the train conductor if they didn't

[Alconleigh]

It's mad how oblivious people are. It boggles me how they aren't run over the minute they leave the house, seeing as how they apparently exist inside a bubble with no one else in it. But don't be afraid to ask them to turn it down. I did on a train last week with a girl watching some inane comedy with canned laughter on her phone, with no earphones. She looked slightly surprised but turned it off.

[thenightsky]

Love the idea of watching something inappropriate for DC with sound loud. I'm thinking Reservoir Dogs

[WayneRooneysHair]

Start watching Wolf of Wall Street...!

[ilovesooty]

If the train is packed aren't they preventing other people from sitting down by having their feet on the seats?

[pickingstrawberries]

Toomuch, that's just so anti social. It's not just the annoyance it causes to others but also the messages that their needs are more important.

[Tuskerfull]

It astounds me that people can be this oblivious and selfish, but unfortunately it's pretty common. It's definitely not okay.