Are adults who give babies tablets showing American cartoons at full volume in medical waiting rooms the lowest form of life? (Serious, not in any way light-hearted)

Why can't you just give them headphones though? Everyone is happy then.

Erm, yeah.

How about parents who don't care about their DC's feelings enough to even bother entertaining them in even the most annoying way? Parents who never take their DC out of the house, don't attend to their medical needs, prioritise their own drug use or whatever over the child?

It's a low bar I'll grant you, but still. Not quite the lowest.

The noise of cartoons on an iPad is far worse than a child giggling or making ‘playing’ noises with a doll or such like

its not noisy cartoons vs screaming child

Well, I really like children! (I am a primary school teacher). I don't think screens should be the default and I actually think we are doing kids an incredible disservice if they are.

Bizarre . Of course you have control over your children , would you let them run in front of a bus ? Then make them wear headphones or maybe try entertaining them yourself?

I never, ever did it with mine. Colouring in, small toys (fuzzy felts were great), little puppets, books... If they don't expect it, they won't ask for it. It really is intrusive even at a low volume and especially if everyone does it.

I hate it on the bus, train, restaurants, too.

None of the rest of us should have to listen to other people's electronic noise, ever.

I feel quite sad there isn’t a sneering emoji

Nope, I’m saying sneering people are irritating.

Just awful. Shove them in front of s blaring screen at home to avoid parenting but in a waiting room, particularly a medical area where people will be stressed, it's so inconsiderate.

Id have had to say can you mute it please and show some consideration.

No I think the lowest form of people is the judgemental arseholes.

I couldn't give a fuck what someone's kid is doing in a doctor's waiting room. They're hardly spoiling an enjoyable experience are they?

I don't allow my own kids to use iPads at all. But if that's what gets another parent through the day then good luck to them.

On a level with parents who let their kids ride scooters in shops

Australian cartoons are worse, Bluey's parents are much too happy to interact and play and talk with their children. How dare they.

It’s annoying but they are not the lowest of the low, so no I don’t agree. Sorry you are having a crap day.

So sick of this attitude. Children are their own person. You cannot control a child anymore than you can control an adult. If a child acts like a child and they refuse to stop or starts doing something else that people don't approve of then what? What is this magical control that parents are meant to have? I hate this turn of phrase and cannot fathom it!

Yes and before tablets it was snacks they'd shove at them.

I think a minority of comments are from lazy parents who shove tablets at their kids to avoid parenting.

Even the best behaved children make noise, sadly children aren't robotic.. I think a lot of these comments are from older people who just generally don't like children

Yeah cause it’s better to annoy the crap out of everyone around you and give zero f’s about social politesse.

A child doesn't need to be glued to a screen on full volume, at a doctors office, on a train, in a restaurant, etc etc etc.

Perfectly well behaved children who will run around and moan if they don't have a tablet?

Are you saying you think full volume is acceptable when in a medical waiting room?

Bizarre if you do.

Far lower form of pond life is the grown adult with no discernible health problems who deems it necessary to watch TikTok/Insta shorts or bilge on YouTube at top volume without headphones.

At least with a child in a waiting room I can understand the mother may be trying to avoid a meltdown.

There is no excuse whatsoever for doing it on the bus. And yet I don’t think I have had a bus journey in two weeks where I live (South London) where someone hasn’t watched some crap on their phone at top volume.

What possesses people to convince themselves this is OK?

At 15 my dd overdosed. On a ward of 4 a dm played a Disney film on loud at 5. 30am. I started singing along until she gave her dd about 7 the headset.. Some people are so self absorbed..

Some years ago I sat in a waiting room at the recurrent miscarriage clinic and one woman had brought her toddler aged child along with a toy that loudly played nursery rhymes. I remember thinking it was really selfish. All the anxious parents waiting for miscarriage testing and scans. Now I’ve luckily had two children I understand better that she probably didn’t have anybody else to look after the child to attend the clinic. But I still think the loud nursery rhymes was too much. When I go to the GP I take a small set of books or a quiet toy. Occasionally at the hospital for longer waits we’ve used an iPhone to distract, but very quietly.

I was at the antenatal clinic a few weeks ago for a growth scan. I needed a checkup on a non-life-threatening problem but still a serious pregnancy complication. I was pretty anxious.

All the info says NOT to bring your children to appointments. Yet the hot, crowded, waiting room was full of children. All of them were being ignored except for when they did something they shouldn't do or they were watching their tablet on LOUD. Then they'd get bored of the tablet, shriek, and be loudly scolded.
I'm not exaggerating when I say this was the same for every child in that waiting room and there were about 5 groups with children.

I appreciate childcare is hard to come by but if you have no choice but to bring them with you then the onus is on you to stop them impacting on others.

You are not wrong OP.

Lazy parents need to use earphones on their precious offspring and maybe they'll then grow up respecting other people's needs instead of becoming the grown up twats who listen to tiktok videos at full volume on public transport.