To think you don't let your toddler play with noisy electic games on a packed train?

[Hammy02]

Or any train for that matter. I was on jam packed train at the weekend (no spare seats, aisle full of people standing up) and one woman was sat with her small child playing with a toy that said 'triangle', 'square' etc when the kid pressed each shape. I was a couple of seats in front & could hear it! AIBU to think this was utterly selfish of the mum? Other people were giving her the evils but she seemed oblivious.

Hammy02

Have you complained to the train operater for the statte of the train you got on, ie jam packed and no spare seats.

Why DameMargotFountain, I am a serial lurker, I knows my regulars (nods wisely) and I have a hot 'crapdar' Thank your for the , please have yourself one too - cheers! - Did the emoticon thingies work???

Do you keep a spreadsheet on us all. LAK11

nilby er, I really am not looking for a fight, just wondering why you thought I was judging. Shrug.

usual you really seem to want someone to care that you're making little snide comments. It just seems a bit sad, considering most of us are managing to have an adult conversation.

Usualsuspect Passive-aggressive, non? Tad lazy, I think...

I really do not get why people get so upset about other people's opinions.

You think children should be allowed to be noisy on trains. I think they shouldn't. I don't, you know, shout at parents who are entertaining their children, I don't rip the toy from the toddler's tiny chubby hands.

I just have a different opinion.

Why that would upset anyone is beyond me.

yes, it did

and on a school night

only it isn't it's 1/2 term

I hope that 'the' parent isn't on mn or at least hasn't seen this thread. I think she has had an unfair bashing, from what the op has said she does not sound like a bad parent nor bad mannered. It would have been better for the op to have politely asked her to turn the thing down or off. The parent's response could have made this a very different thread.

Yes, I totally understand how some people want quiet and find certain noises irritating but isn't lack of tolerance a trait that nobody really wants to have? Plus you have to judge each action on its own merit; a 'harmless' noisy toy keeping a small child entertained vs some of the other things mentioned up thread are NOT comparable at all IMHO.

OK,more than a little late to this but......
It would depend on the length of the journey.

You do have to consider other transport users aswell as your own child.
If it's a long journey it's difficult but other people shouldn't have to be driven bonkers by electronic rubbish toys.
The same goes for people wearing those idiotic earphones that spew out hisses and tssssks.

There really are lots of ways to entertain children without noisy,annoying crap.

No one minds the sound of children's voices but there is a limit where their toys become a reason for murder crying.

I remember accidentally on purpose breaking an electronic toy that MIL brought back from America.

I would never have inflicted it on anyone else else,never mind a car load of travellers on a train.

indian certainly not my child!!! And she's two. I must be a terrible pare t cos I can't get they a journey without YouTube in the iPhone coming out. Usually after raisins have been eaten and pencils thrown on floor. Blowed if I'm carrying an entire toy box around with me when my phone will do just fine! :)

I regularly do a 2 hour train journey with my 4 kids one of whom is 2 and its so difficult to get them to stay still and will use any trick in the book noisy toy or otherwise ( after exhausting all other options!) screaming and a tantrum is far worse trust me .
So yabu

YABU. Would you prefer the screaming, writhing alternative?
Remember these are toddlers - you can't reason with them.

YABU. Surely what this actually boils down to is a personal preference on types of noise and noise levels. E.G for me I would have no problem with a child's noisy toy though I would be irritated at someone 'chamming' their way through a packet of crisps. My problem, not theirs.
I have a 3 year old DD who, by most standards, is very well behaved. However every journey we take I try to be as prepared as possible just incase of a melt down moment. I am sure many would take exception to me doing the following during the course of a journey:
*loud parenting (still not sure what this issue is with this) and discussing every thing we see out of the window
*singing favourite songs
*reading, followed by colouring, stickers etc
*non noisy toys
However if all of the above had been exhausted and my DD favourite toy happened to have noise then you can bet it will be brought out. This reasoning is two fold. Firstly as my daughters happiness and my Sanity is very important to me and secondly I am of the opinion that the majority of people would rather hear the toy than a child having a meltdown!

What was the answer to the child-friendly headphones question? Not an option?

(genuine question)

I'm pretty shocked at the number of people on here who think it's A-OK to have a loud and irritating electronic game on no matter how many people are being effectively forced to listen to it. It's almost as if the parent or the child making the noise wouldn't necessarily annoy others but would embarrass the parent, whereas devolving the noise-making onto a machine makes it no-one's fault, as if trilling WELL DONE THAT IS A TRIANGLE constantly throughout a five or six hour journey is an act of god or something.

Six of one and half a dozen of another. how loud is loud? Was the carriage conversation free? This thread could just have easily been about a fellow passenger having a loud conversation. Would that have prompted the same responses from the YANBU supporters? I may have missed the info regarding the toy being played with constantly thought the 5 or 6 hour journey. If that is the case then yes it would be irritating. Though I'm not sure how many children would play with a single toy for that length of time without bing irritatd themselves.

Elephants, if it's just a standard toy, it won't have headphones. If it was a game on an iPhone that might be an option but I suspect at toddler age there won't be many choices of headphones.

Elephants, toys can't have headphones. Especially toddler toys. They wouldn't pass any safety tests due to noise near the ears and the long cord.

I quite like listening to other peoples conversations on the train or bus.

"I'm pretty shocked at the number of people on here who think it's A-OK to have a loud and irritating electronic game on no matter how many people are being effectively forced to listen to it. "

I don't really think it is A-OK,but there may be times depending on the age of the child,and the time and duration of the journey,when it is the least worst scenario.Also - no-one should have to put up with noise they don't like in their own home.In public spaces you will be exposed to things which annoy you. I hate,absolutely loathe,background music in shops.It makes me tense and twitchy.(And to me it serves no purpose,unlike a toy keeping a child happy)But it is out there,I am forced to listen to it every time I go shopping,that's life.

And EchoBitch said "no-one minds the sound of childrens voices" - not sure about that either,not here on MN maybe,but in RL I've got the distinct impression that sitting in complete silence on the train would be fine,but the reading and constant question asking and answering we were doing was at least as annoying as some people obviously find the electronic toys!

On long journeys we will do a range of activities (provided we get our reserved seats and aren't left to sit on floor o/s toilet) these include colouring, drawing,listening to story tapes - but I do remember how hard iot is to entertain a toddler - too young for story CDs, can colour but quickly loses interest - playdo is a good option - but pens get knocked on floor, drawing gets frustrating quickly and a toddler will let you know in a vocal way. Sometimes an electronic toy which happens to be noisy is the best option in a stressful situation as the alternative is crying/constant questions.