Children on phones/iPads in restaurabts

What on earth are you doing that a meal takes 4-5 hours?

YABU, obv.

I honestly don't understand why do people get their knicks in a twist about it? Yeah, if there's Peppa Pig blasting out of their screens next to your ear - you definitely have a point. Otherwise? If someone's kids, or parents, or grandparents, or all of them together are sitting with their noses in the screens - what's it to you? Did they steal your Iphone or something?

And this bit 'so sad' cracks me up. Sad? That strangers are minding their business and doing their thing? Right.

Incidentally, my own kid doesn't use screens at the table and never did. But it's because she herself never wanted it. I never forbade it. I love gadgets, screens, internet, being online, AI, etc, I think all these are great and we have all the possible gadgets in our home. My DD grew up with devices pretty much since she was a baby. We also do have other hobbies, read books (DD prefers paper books, me - Kindle), travel, go to museums, have friends, DD does well at school and is well behaved. It's not one or the other.

🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 one glance at a family in a restaurant and you can tell this much about them!! Wow, that's a talent!

FWIW, my child sometimes gets a screen in a restaurant, my niece sometimes gets a screen in a restaurant. Both have very limited screen time at home, and both sit at a dinner table for all meals with the rest of the family.

Exactly this, it is just times are changing.

I would prefer a child was sat at a table engaged in something other than causing a scene or running around.

I believe these kids at home don't sit at the table for meals. Either don't have a table to sit at or meals on trays in front of the TV.

This thread comes up time and time again. As others have said, you haven't seen the lead up to that point, what has happened during the day to warrant some screen time. You are seeing a tiny tiny snippet.

Time and time again you see threads on here complaining that there were children being too loud at restaurants (again after only seeing a snippet of the day that lead to the point of a child being loud).

And I don't believe in this "back in my day" bullshit. Socialising was different when I was a child. We rarely ate in restaurants, even when on holidays it was usually cook at home or order in!

For a site called MUMSnet, there's a surprising amount of negativity for both children and men (without which none of us would have children)! Bizarre place!!

I'm ok if the phone or tablet is on silent or kid has headphones.

No they always have some game where the voice screams "yeah!"

Though wish parents would understand that phones and tablets are not e-parents/nannies.

if parent/s have been dealing with moaning demanding whining children all day I don’t blame them for allowing the iPad/phone to keep them amused quiet

But for myself personally don’t really notice other children as I am so focused on my own ds and our fascinating conversations that we always have at the dinner table

Grow up. Your comment says alot about you. Your happy to chat to a stranger online and berate them, but you wouldn't think of talking to anyone in real life that you hadn't been introduced too.😱

Exactly this.

🙄

No, the point is with the amount of children who have screens in this situation, they cannot all have SEN

Meaning what?

@AmICrazyToEvenBother what if extended family is abroad? not introduce the child to family until they are past toddler age and able to be seen but not heard?

I don't think anybody can judge screentime unless they have seen the whole day or possibly weeks parenting. Screens themselves aren't bad, overuse of screens and certain things that can be accessed on them are. Yes they're not as enriching as say playing outdoors but that doesn't mean 30 minutes here and there is going to be detrimental to development, cause an addiction/behaviors issues or a speech delay.

My almost 2.5 year old can sit in a restaurant for a good 45 minutes - first talking, then eating. After that he gets restless and sometimes we may get another 15 - 30 minutes from a book, toy or engaging with somebody who's been at the other end of the table. Then he gets a screen until we're done - usually videos of himself or his cousins but sometimes things like number blocks or farmer ted. I don't know why PP's think me (or anybody else) explaining how we use screen time means I know it's shit parenting as I don't believe it is!

We went for a meal today and it pretty much followed the above pattern and the little screentime at the end also meant we also enjoyed our meal! We'd been outside all morning with friends and he's played all afternoon since being home. He's not been harmed by the 20 - 30 minutes of screen time he got at lunch.

@EilonwyWithRedGoldHair he’ll remember all you’ve shared & your discussions. Love the ‘further adventures’ :)

It can't be good for their eyes at such young ages?

Are they not in that example? Children walking round not looking where they're going isn't great, whether it's because they're looking at a screen or reading a book.

At least one of the times I was reading The Lord of the Rings so I can't blame myself for not wanting to put it down, but is it really that different to my son playing Geometry Dash?

He loved the Mousehole Cat book so much, I struggle to read (or watch it) without crying. My mam made up a whole series of further adventures for the cat (and her children) that she used to tell him.

I read to him from when he was born, first books were Edward Lear's nonsense rhymes and Roverrandom by Tolkien. When he was older he loved The Hobbit and The Wind in the Willows.

He won't let me read to him now, which is a shame, the last books I read him were the Harry Potter books and His Dark Materials and we'd started on The Dark is Rising books when he lost interest. He doesn't read books unfortunately, he's autistic and his special interests at the moment don't include reading.

I hope when he's older he'll pick up reading again, or perhaps try audiobooks. I think he'd prefer non-fiction, something like The Ancestor's Tale by Richard Dawkins would be something he might enjoy - we've talked about it as a possibility for the future!

Which is why parents should limit screen time. It doesn’t make screens the devil.

People tend to relax more on holiday and allow some rules to relax, screen time is likely going to be one of those rules.

I'm not sure it was meant to be witty, just factual