"Ipad Kid" ??

Mine are late teen now I’m a late adopter so they didn’t even have iPads. We had one iPad in the house and that was mine they never went near it.

They just watched some telly at home when we were having down time / I made tea like we did as kids in the 80s. So I really have no truck with “we need this to get by ans parents” argument. You really don’t.

I want to relax while eating and not threaten my child a million times to sit still before the food even arrives. I barely went out to eat out when I was a child myself so won't compare my childhood with my own dc before the "we didn't have screens when we were young" police arrive. At home the food is already at the table, child sits and eats and it takes 15 mins, they don't sit at the dinner table for 1.5/2hours like in restaurants so it's unreasonable to expect them to sit nicely and avoid disturb to other diners. Yes kids without headphones are annoying because they also disturb other diners, it defeats the purpose.

in that case, YOU are totally selfish and unreasonable. Your kid’s desire to watch something does not trump everyone else’s desire to be able to sit in peace or talk without having to listen to second-hand music.

I can be over-literal sometimes but this is satire right?

I wonder how families ever functioned at restaurants/ cafes before the invention of screens? Life was so much more simple before and I do find screens to be so distracting for adults as well as children.

YANBu/and YABU

I used to judge parents with kids on tablets but after a week of nap refusal and arguing 2 year old I just wanted 10 mins to eat in piece and regulate my emotions before tackling the afternoon

However I have the volume low or off and ensure it wasn’t bugging anyone else

Nothing worse than a loud iPad sound in a restaurant 😩 Yanbu

God forbid 🙄.
What a fucked up world we live in. I despair at some of the drivel some mums come out with.

Yes this, it may look as though it is helpful in the moment but it is actually causing far more problems in terms of their development. Screens used in this way are really harmful, I don't think everyone who allows their regular use understands the huge impact they are having yet.

Also, if the child can't wear headphones then they need to just watch or play with no sound on, that isn't a hardship and is just basic common sense and manners. Same goes for adults though.

This is how we were with our daughter and she always behaved in a restaurant. She was always looking forward to getting her food though.

There is lots of evidence that screen time is damaging for kids - autistic, ADHD and ODD kids too. If any parents aren't aware of this it's an easy google search.

Despite what some PPs have claimed, it really shouldn't be a binary choice between plugging your kid into a screen and let them run around shouting, or god forbid, starve.

You can do what parents have done forever - set boundaries, engage and distract.

It’s called common courtesy.

playing devices in public is antisocial.

You aren't entitled. You are just challenging shitty behavior which other people don't like

The neurodiversity is just a cringey excuse. I'm neurodiverse -don't do this. One of my children is and they don't do it either

That's lazy ass modern parenting for you!

I popped to the shop the other morning, encountered a toddler in a pushchair with a phone blaring out and some show or game on it. Lovely bit of noise pollution 1st thing. No head phones and little interaction with the child

Agree with have a "pub bag" which has colouring in, Uno, dobble etc for my child and phone is last resort. But just last week (during school holidays) when a hotel/pub we were staying in food was taking forever (1.5 hours) my son was happily playing games with us at a normal level of volume, the couple next to us I could tell were annoyed as apparently they expected a quiet meal at 5pm. Sometimes you can't win now a day's. Either kids are being noisy or they are wrong for watching screens.

Actually...

https://www.merriam-webster.com/grammar/could-couldnt-care-less

Interesting read!

It does if you give a shit about other people.

My child can't speak, play games, have the motivation or interest in colouring in due to his severe autism and learning disability. Letting him watch an iPad (with headphones) when we are out is literally the only way we can enjoy a once in a blue moon bit of a social life.

I have toddlers so I only knew it was a joke because dancing fruits is not 'Cocomelon' it's 'Hey Bear'. 😆

OP surely you mean that the parents couldn't care less?

I think it’s lazy too, but I try to remind myself that for some autistic children it’s the only way the families can access experiences like a restaurant. You are 100% not unreasonable to expect the volume to be off or headphone use though. A full volume phone or iPad in a public place is rude and antisocial whether it’s an adult or a child.

My family are autistic, and we struggle immensely when people bring kids to restaurants and let them play videos, music and loud games on phones or tablets. I'm also hard of hearing so there's been too many times when it's destroyed my ability to enjoy an outing.

It's not all about you. Do what you have to do but maybe choose places that are definitely kid focused, and encourage gentle use of headphones gradually over time, or wean them onto something non invasive to other diners.

I have noticed but can't get too worked up. Sometimes they're useful. Sometimes they're overused. Sometimes there are really good reasons for them, and people wouldn't be able to take their kid out without, as per some examples above. Parents deserve to be able to do that. I hate cocomelon, though. It's ugly as hell.

@ArtTheClownIsNotAMimeit absolutely doesn’t