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

Did you read the last paragraph of my post?

lol all these perfect parents.

Sorry but not natural for a 2 year old to sit still for 3 hours for a meal.

Back in the day our parents just wouldn't take us at all.

Go ahead with the iPad, really has no impact when older if you don't have too much screen time otherwise.

What's the point paying to eat if you are walking around the restaurant apologising to other diners the whole time, ESPECIALLY after a child centric day!

Screen time and developmental health: results from an early childhood study in Canada | BMC Public Health | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)

More research. In this one, they conclude that "daily screen time that exceeds the recommended one-hour limit for young children, as suggested by the Canadian 24-h Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (Tremblay et al. BMC Public Health. 17:874, 2017; Tremblay J Physical Activity Health. 17:92–5, 2020) is negatively associated with developmental health outcomes in early childhood."

I think we can safely assume that a child plonked in front of a screen during dinner has access to screens at other times too, so will be exceeding the hour, therefore having excessive screen time.

My daughter is 20 and is studying Cybersecurity and is also a lovely person and she was a YouTube addict back then when it was just coming out. She's turned out to be a beautiful human being.

I think a lot of people are quite snobby about this. My kids are 30, 20 and 16 so too old to have a tablet at a young age. But if I wasn’t doing it again I would let them. It’s hard enough trying to keep kids from disturbing other people so if they want to play a game or watch a show that’s fine (with headphones). Yes it’s a bit anti social, but it makes life easier. I have a friend who is French and her DD used to sit so well behaved for hours in restaurants as that’s French culture I guess, and she was an only child and always very mature in the way she spoke. I do think that’s preferable but all kids are different and some just couldn’t sit for hours like that, so why not use tech aid that make life easier

I can just imagine

'I won't let my child drink arsenic'
'Oh look at these perfect parents'

Is that the answer to everything, if you are not doing anything wrong then why does it matter what others think or say

'The world needs to stop doing what it's doing because I am sat here being judged on I'm being picked on they are better than me'

Do it own it and stop it with endless issues

The most sensible, measured and accurate response on here. On behalf of teachers everywhere, thank you.

I hate it. Mine are 3 and 6 and I really don't like to see it. But it's none of my business and I would never comment or make my feelings apparent.

That’s about excessive screen time. If all they’ve had is one hour of iPad at a restaurant, after a busy day of stimulating activities, it’s hardly excessive. Yes some parents do rely on screens too much but that doesn’t sound like it’s OPs case!

As the parent, just do whatever suits you and your family. But it is totally irrelevant to the family (who also might not have a child with them that are in the restaurant) to care what you have done all day with your kids. TBH as a parent who is often on holiday with our kids, if i had a fun packed day as you describe, i would be getting a take-a-way/cooking at home/watching a film then flopping in bed!!

Why do you care what others think?

I am one of those parents who take colouring books, dot to dots when we go out to eat. I'm probably being judged as 'one of those parents'!

I must admit that i don't like it when we are out for dinner and all i can hear is dora the explorer (for example), at least take headphones!

To be fair nobody is judging using screen time. It's when it becomes an addiction to the detriment of all other activities & interactions that's an obvious issue for childhood development.

There’s a massive difference between colouring/cards/toys and sitting staring at a screen with headphones on.
I very much agree children learn from the little interactions and practice.
There seems to be a shift to when they are x age they’ll magically be able to do it and parents seem shocked they can’t as they have never learnt.

The problem is their young brains. There was a piece on tv about how iPads etc can detrimentally affect the wiring of young brains. I can’t recall the details but I just remember being glad iPads weren’t around when my children were young.

Imagine now as a parent you take your child out to eat with friends. You avoid the screens and encourage them to talk and play, so they do and that isn't good enough because they are being too loud and you're getting looks. So you tell them to play quietly which they do because they're good kids and they listen then one of them says a joke and laughs out loud! Again the looks and tutting from Judgy parents who are usually old and have raised their kids already and seem to have forgotten what it's like to have children! So to accommodate the children I mean adults 🤣you then allow your children to watch something just so you can eat in peace while not getting frustrated at your children for being children!

Well look at all the perfect parents on here.

9/10 my son is perfectly behaved at a restaurant and will sit and colour or play with toys. 1/10 he is restless and the phone comes out with some tv on to calm him down. I’m sure most other customers would prefer this compared to whinging/moaning/crying.

Whats next from all the perfect parents on here? Dare we go back to the hotel room and put some cartoons on for the children? Or is that equally as forbidden?

The trick OP, is not caring about other people. I know I’m a good parent and my child has appropriate levels of screen time, so if anyone were to say anything I’d just ignore them.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with it. Anyone who decides they want to judge anyone else for it can go and take a running jump as far as I’m concerned.

We were at Disneyland Paris recently, long coach journey there and kids running on snatched sleep. A long day of activities led by them, we decided we wanted a grown up drink for us so went to the hotel bar. One of my three had their switch at the table (sound off). Sometimes, it is necessary. I am not ashamed for allowing it!

Quite the hero aren’t you.

It's a bit early for exhaustive research, given this is a modern problem, but here's a start

Effects of Excessive Screen Time on Child Development: An Updated Review and Strategies for Management - PMC (nih.gov)

I am a teacher, I deal with the results every day in the classroom. Nothing wrong with this particular app in itself, in moderation, when with a fully engaged adult, with no other distractions, but it isn't "educational" on its own.

It is basically a cartoon babysitter does nothing for education, attention and behaviour. It justs shuts children up for a bit until they are bored of it and want something nosier and flashier, and then something nosier and flashier after that, until they are so addicted to constant noise and flash that they feel hard done by if expected to sit still and look at a book, and to what these "educational app" parents call "disregulate".

Why do you want your children taught to interact with this inane, ugly garish cartoon figures rather than other human? I quite frankly find them disturbing

Your child, your choice (so long as it's on mute or headphones). Random person going past knows nothing about your day, your child's needs, or any other factors. Do what's right for you and your family.

At that age when in a cafe or restaurant I provided drawing stuff and activity books for my young daughter.Tablets were just starting to be available at this point and we didnt have one.

But even now I would still avoid using them in this situation. I think the longer kids dont use them the better. This is said as a mother whose daughter did use a family tablet at home from the age of 8. In hindsight it would have been better for her to not have used it this young even though it was monitored and limited.

We have all become too reliant on them and our smart phones.

Would I have commented as I passed your table? No I would not.

Sadly its not just about tables. There is growing evidence that withdrawal from using screens causes stress & anxiety until the child is 'back on line' Yes, it may be different now with all the new technology but in years to come parents will be saying did that generation of parents seriously allow their children to become so addicted to online games etc they find it difficult to participate in other activities without being anxious & desperate to get 'back online'

There is absolutely no reliable, exhaustive research - none - to suggest that watching an iPad in a restaurant has a deleterious impact on how a child develops.

So everybody claiming it is a problem is simply speaking from their own position of prejudice. And do you really care what they think?

My daughter was frequently allowed to watch my phone/iPad at a restaurant when she was tiny. She is now one of the loveliest people I have ever met (probably one of the loveliest people IN THE WORLD, I imagine!) and very academically successful. So from my exhaustive research I would confidently state that iPads in a restaurant are not only permissible, they are ESSENTIAL for your child's development.

See? That's no more stupid than posters who say the opposite. Just trust your instincts - why worry about what other people think. Do you imagine that all the people on here on some sorts of expert in children development?

As long as it's not abusive or unkind to others, do what works for you and your loved ones.

I dislike it and wouldn't do it. But I wouldn't dream of giving my opinion to a stranger.