There's absolutely nothing wrong with iPad at the table at a restaurant after a child centric day

It really isnt. I'm now thinking that this is clearly a 'joke thread' or a thread to get people to sign up to Edurino!

Absolutely this.

@MidnightPatrol

Same here. I remember my brother having a GameBoy and on holiday would take it to the restaurant and be playing on that.

Yet at that time that was acceptable but screens are not - he was just as engaged in a 'screen' back then

I wouldn't judge as everyone has their own way of doing things and honestly I couldn't care less.

But it's not for me. In the case you give, lovely child-centric day out doors, beach etc, my kids are too tired to eat out. They'll be tired, grumpy, and need a quiet tea and go to bed. Giving them screens at a restaurant would just be kicking the can down the road for us and we'd have the fall out to deal with at bedtime.

We're on hols at the moment and dealing with this sort of situation everyday. Feeling a bit grumpy that we can't enjoy a nice meal out. So I do get it.

You do you - although I don’t think it encourages good table etiquette - family meals are always where we find out most about our teenagers lives now, so setting that expectation early will make it a lot easier to communicate when your child is older (just a tip - Take it or leave it).

However, if you’re going to do this then absolutely no sound or give them headphones. Other people are trying to have a nice chat with their partners (or even children!) too - fecking Peppa Pig in the background is irritating in the extreme.

I wouldn’t dream of commenting but it wasn’t allowed for my children at that age and still isn’t (now 6 an 7). We took the children travelling around France, Italy and Spain and it was wonderful to see no tablets out at the tables when dining out in restaurants despite plenty of children from toddlers to older children.

When we go on all inclusive holidays, it’s tablets everywhere though, rare to see a child eating without one

No it did not. But how often as a child did you go out for sit down meals. How many times did you spend the entire day out accessing expensive activities. This whole “not in my day” judgement disregards completely the huge differences in lifestyle.

Listening to podcasts during nap walks was great with a baby! I do miss them now I have a toddler who rarely naps!

I love the "if you think it's not great to shove an ipad in front of your kid to keep them quiet then you must think you're a perfect parent" thing.

I'm by no means perfect but I do think that if children aren't given the opportunity to learn how to behave in restaurants without a screen in front of them, how are they going to pick up those skills?

I'm a 90s kid and we really didn't go out to eat much - it was such a rarity. Maybe 4 times a year for an occasion. Didn't go 'regular' until we were older and could sit through a long meal

I have a 2 year old and we don't eat out loads but still way more than when I was a kid

At that age we brought sticker books or kept it to one course and left.

Honestly, I do judge as I think kids need to learn to engage at the table, but I wouldn't say anything to a random stranger about it.

When we were on holiday earlier this year in Greece, we were walking up a slope back to our accommodation one or two nights and when we stopped for a breather we looked way down and could see/hear a local family sat in their garden at a long table, three or four generations l'd say with DC of various ages. We commented how lovely it was yes some of the DC were being a little lively but the family were all interacting/including them in conversation etc. We sat there for quite a while .
I think its important for them to learn their social skills when at a table and at same time that sometimes its not all about them (a couple of 'shushes' etc were aimed at them but also then allowed to speak).
I don't like them or mobiles at the table no.

Nothing wrong with it and I'm sure it won't be harmful for kids if it's used for a limited amount of time but at the same time it's something I don't want to encourage it.

yep do what you gotta do! We have the iPad hidden away and never use it at home or on days out - until it’s the meal time otherwise we wouldn’t make it through sometimes with the 3 year old!!

and we use it on the tube on the way home to keep her awake so we aren’t left with a dreaded danger nap!! 😅

court care less what anyone else thinks or has to say about tbh

Same

I've mentioned the incident at the Airport & its reminded me of another incident on a train. A young child was on the ipad for 4 hours. Hardly a word was passed unless going to the toilet. When her parents removed it at the destination to help her with her jacket the child was in a total trance, oblivious to her surroundings. It was as if she was still watching the screen. It actually looked quite scary.

I wouldn't take a 2 year old for a three hour meal because of course they're going to get fractious. That's just setting yourself up for failure.

It's not needed

No because I am a perfect parent all the information just lands in my head

You haven’t actually told us what 'Judgy judgerpants' said. I’m guessing they didn’t say anything or this person is a work of your imagination as you want people to tell you iPads at the table are ok.

Personally, I’ve never allowed it and think it’s a shame to see it. But you do you. I’d hate to be a 'Judgy judgerpants'.

All this about screens causing anxiety I remember having to watch EastEnders as a child because we had one TV and obviously my parents watched this in front of me and all I can remember is having anxiety about who shot Phil Mitchell.

There’s nothing child-centric about not teaching them how to behave properly at the dinner table, either. Especially in a restaurant.

I completely get what you are saying and I do similar with my adult daughters. We hang out a lot and we all talk continuously. Literally non stop with both my daughters talk at warp speed 😭😭So,sometimes, when we take a break and go for a coffee we agree to sit and have a chill and all play on our phones in silence for half an hour or so. I guess if people walk by they might think we are boring and obsessed with our phones when the reality is that we have a great time together.

We didnt have iPads when my kids were kids as they hadn't been invented but we made meals out a time where we interacted with the kids the whole time. We played games and talked. We tended to keep meals out shortish. My kids were generally mellow and well behaved so it wasn't difficult with them.

I don't judge parents if they let their kids have iPads at restaurants. I don't care about things like that so it doesn't register with me. I'd judge if they let their kids be noisy or run around as that affects me and I'd really judge loud performance parenting as that's really annoying.