To not like seeing toddlers on iPads/iphones in restaurants?

[BlackberriesAhoy]

My first Aibu so I'm wearing flame retardant pants.

My dc are now past the needing entertaining at the table stage (thank jeff for that) but when they were younger (they are both still at primary school now so not ancient) we made the decision to not have electronic devices in restaurants. We took crayons, paper, a small box of Lego, games etc with us.

Please don't think I'm a pious non-electrical device using git. Dc would spend all day if possible on minecraft. They have DSs which they use on long journeys but a restaurant IMO is not the place for electronic stuff.

A few weeks ago we were at pizza express and a couple and their toddler were there. The parents alternately (and at one time both) sat using their phones at the table (texting etc) while their bored toddler roamed about the restaurant. Are we going to be raising children who cannot just sit around a table a eat/talk/entertain themselves without being plugged into something if we let them use iPads etc when out eating?

I remember the hell of taking toddlers out, I do understand but still...

[ToysRLuv]

@Napa

[forthill]

Mrs Oakenshield - I will rephrase my question without using the word heinous.

If it is frowned upon to distract toddlers with iPads and iPhones in restaurants, does that also apply to digital cameras?

And if it's the case that it's bad to let toddlers scroll through photos on a digital camera, is it also bad to let them leaf through a collection of printed photos?

If not, what's the difference?

[forthill]

P.S. I would be interested to receive a reply to the question above.

Nobody responded to my previous question about whether as a parent you would opt to inflict a toddler meltdown on fellow diners in a restaurant in favour of distracting the child with an iPad.

[Crowler]

forthill it seems that you're suggesting that ipad=iphone=digital camera=book so ipad=book. I'm not sure I agree with that.

I'm not opposed to getting some peace from a toddler in a restaurant by way of an ipad, by the way.

[forthill]

We're on the same page then!

I wasn't thinking of books; just equating photos on a digital camera with a loose collection of printed photos.

[MrsOakenshield]

to be honest forthill, I can't answer your question as neither DH nor I have an iPhone/iPad/any other portable device of this kind - so if DD was going to have a meltdown we would have to deal with it without recourse to any of these (I would take her outside to calm down, and if she didn't we would leave. Hasn't happened yet, touch wood). Digital camera - not sure about this, as I don't tend to carry this about with me either, but in theory - I should think it's OK, it's not the same, though, to me at any rate.

I'm not against people using these things, btw, I am simply commenting that I know of adults who can't seem to function without being on them almost constantly, which I think is rude, and I do know of one mum whose toddler son does seem to be glued to her iPhone quite a lot, which personally I don't like (not that it's my business, of course).