Is this accepted now? Young children and electronics on public transport.

[AnneGrommit]

The last few times I've been on a train (not in quiet coach) and quite often on the bus I've had my peace disturbed by toddlers with phones/tablets either playing noisy games on them or watching programmes. When I've asked parents to rein them in I've been invariably met with either passive aggressive remarks about not liking children (I have three myself) or outright hostility and a statement along the lines of "it keeps them quiet". No, it doesn't. It stops them from pestering you but it's far from quiet. AIBU or is this an accepted "thing" now? Because it's fucking annoying.

Ha! Hahahahaha! The scandal of it; grown adult ventures into the world, only to be greeted and annoyed by the existence of other people doing other people things. What is particularly horrifying is the fact that those people are small and in a public space not specifically designated as being for adults only; who could have imagined there would be small people there, along with the accompanying sounds of life as a small person? How dare they, and how very dare their parents??

Heaven forfend, the entitlement of such tiny humans and their electronic devices!

Christ, I'm sure some people's toddlers don't want to look at your miserable fucking faces either but they're bloody stuck with them on your train carriage aren't they.

Jacques If you're on a long journey in your car then it's not lazy shit parenting. If you are in a doctor's waiting room full of other people, some of whom may be feeling pretty lousy, then to sit there reading your magazine ignoring your children because you've just dumped them there with a loud tablet. Expecting other people in the train carriage or bus to listen to a loud tablet for a couple of hours is not on. Parenting is about preparing children for the world and that means learning when it is appropriate to be noisy and when it is appropriate to be considerate of other people.

I don't like loud electronics noises (as I mentioned upthread) but actually I too find it less annoying that some other things. I do find it bemusing when, in restaurants for example, posters on mumsnet say that they never let their child play with a phone and if they get restless they walk them around the restaurant instead. I think that is considerably more selfish and disturbing to other diners than letting a child play Angry Birds with the volume switched off. Yet it is lauded by saome as what 'proper' parenting is all about.

Can I just ask if people who object to kids noise are always totally silent in public and if not why do you think your noise is OK. Second question to the people saying they managed to grow up without these devices, do you have a mobile phone, kindle, ipad, whatever? I managed over 50 years of my life without these things so why do you need them?

It is common now. I use public transport regularly with my three children and have never used tabkets/phones for them.

Bemused, no car, no 2nd car, parent can't drive for medical reasons perhaps. Motobility cars are rarely given for sensory difficulties unless there is extreme behaviour.

Isn't a plane public transport?

It's fine to use tablets / phones. But the rule is have it on silent or use headphones.

Same for 'adults' who think it's ok to watch or listen to things in a public area where people are in close proximity.

You wouldn't like it if someone was playing gangster rap "mother fucking bitch hos" out of their phone near the children. Proper pig is just as annoying.

Unless it's a private plane I'd have thought so granny. I mean, the public are allowed on them.

Gangster rap would be preferable to the young man describing his girlfriend, her physical attributes, what sexual things she preferred and what she was really good at. I used to work on vice squad and I found it OTT God knows what some of the children, mums and little old ladies in their 70s and 80s were thinking.

Who makes the rule Hipster? Maybe you could let us know the other rules?

TheNightmanCometh that's what I thought. Maybe we should tell FiddleFigs?

The problem for many people is the avoidable electronic noise. Talking and other child or parent noise is to be expected.

Exactly this. And everyone sodding managed 10 years ago when all this stuff wasn't invented.
It's the constants beeping and pew pew pew that drives me to distraction and I say this as someone with an arcade machine in my front room.

I have to say though that we had family visit us, two teens, their mum and dad and my MIL.
We went to a cafe and every last fucking one of them got out their phones/ipads and started watching shit/playing games.
It's not just young children.

The thing is, it's just a matter of opinion what noise people find more annoying isn't it? Though I will say I wanted to virtually high five the post about walking kids round restaurants- Peppa Pig in preference any time, say I!

I mean, I was alive 10 years ago though didn't have kids then myself (and to be fair when mine go on public transport it's a novelty so they want to look out of the windows etc). In the pre tablet days, I can think of things I overheard and witnessed in public then that were more annoying than Peppa Pig would have been, and things that were less annoying. I expect that is true for most of us, and I say this as someone whose tolerance for that porcine little shit is fairly low.

I was once at the Papal Audience in Rome and a small child was playing the most irritating game on his father's phone. There were glares all around and when an American man finally (politely!) asked him to turn it off, he was met with a barrage of abuse.

I'm not religious myself but I found it very disrespectful.

SnickersWasAHorse, the thing is some of us have said it doesn't bother us and we might even prefer it to children crying or whining or listening to adults having conversations. It is unfortunate but on public transport you don't get to tell everyone else what to do.

The problem is people take a snapshot into someone's life and judge them on a society gone to the dogs.

I work for myself. As a result although I manage to do pretty much ALL holiday childcare I have to check my phone at certain times.

I discussed that with DD and she understands. So we might go out for the day, pop to a cafe so I can do emails/reply to social media etc and she might play Pokemon go or a puzzle game.

Those little electronic sessions means I get to spend the rest of the holiday with her without working until she goes to bed

@Bemusedandpuzzled so do you expect every parent who can't afford to learn to drive or to be taxied everywhere to just stay at home? Because having an SEN child isn't isolating enough

Not just me then! What a relief.

No problem with quiet chatting. The problem with electronic sound is that it is just so continuous, repetitious and irritating. Although some people have voices like that too.

But only in Britain is there the ludicrous expectation of public transport to be a quiet place where conversations are kept to minimum.
In Japan, the expectations of it being a quiet place are much, much higher.

It is unfortunate but on public transport you don't get to tell everyone else what to do You shouldn't have to tell other people how to behave in public but unfortunately some people are socially inept and do not realise that playing electronic devices without the sound off/headphones on is not normal behaviour.

That does sound sort of funny in an awful way amusedbush! Was it this Pope? I bet he wouldn't have cared if the kid had been making a racket anyway.

gettingmarried - It was a genuine question about what is best for the child, I'm not judging you or anyone else! Has the Motability scheme to give people help with driving costs now gone the way of so many other benefits and been cut?

Some people are socially inept and do not realise that playing electronic devices without the sound off/headphones on is not normal behaviour.

Weellll, for better or for worse, it is normal behaviour these days. It's very common. The issue is whether it should be.

I think part of the problem is that it's easier to rely on an electronic 'child minder' than to make the effort to amuse kids like we used to have to do. Bit sad really. But I please, if you have to do this USE HEADPHONES!