To have told a woman with her kids to mind her own business

[Woolythoughts]

Travelling on a train, sat at a table of four seats. Opposite me was a woman with one of her kids and her other one was next to me. Once next to her was a toddler and the one next to me probably about 6/7.

I was happily sitting there watching a box set on the ipad with head phones in. US drama with bits of violence (guns, shooting, fights etc) and a bit of sex (Homeland for those who know it).

She asked me if I could turn it off as it was unsuitable for her son sitting next to me to watch it. I think he'd been watching the screen and made some comment to his mother from what I could gather when I took my headphones out.

Told her not a chance as it was not my problem.

Then, about 20 minutes left to go, was killing time playing candy crush - again with head phones on.

This time she asked me not to as her kids wanted to play it and she didn't allow it and it would upset them.

At that point I politely suggested she pay more attention to what her kids were doing and less to what I was doing and I'd do what I wanted.

She seemed to think I should modify my behaviour because of her parenting choices.

YANBU!

The mother should have put the toddler on her lap and sat the 6 year old next to her. Good on you standing your ground!

First one you are being unreasonable. Second she is

@Positively PERF
Hi - sorry I've taken so long. I have to get a train to the popcorn shop. You wouldn't believe what happened on the train.
Person sits next to me. Their clothes are absolutely filthy + and person is really stinking. Puts both feet up on opposite seat + elbow well over mutual arm-rest. Starts putting on make-up. When finished applying make-up, starts shaving their legs. Meantime, through all this, their "Ghetto Blaster" is really blasting.
Then they start chomping their way through the remains of a "Big Mac" they found on the the floor + slurping from the bottle of cider they also found on the floor (at least, I think it was cider).
They finish eating - then start picking the food residue out of their teeth with their long, dirty fingernails.
Meantime, their dog has fouled and urinated on the floor - think it got agitated when the person's ferret escaped.
After all that, the person gets into a huge row with another passenger - because they opened a window.
I was really glad to get off that train. However, I've been bitten by something, and my hair feels as if something's walking in it.
Anyway, bit of a wasted journey - popcorn shop were sold out of "Sweet n' Salty"
Toffee o.k. ?

I think it is extremely anti social to watch something with sex and violence in it when other people can also observe the screen..doesn't matter if it's children or not.

This is probably a leap in technology that the 'rulemakers' haven't caught up with.

If my 5 year old had been exposed to this I wouldn't have been happy. Common decency dictates you should have done the right thing and stopped watching as soon as other people sat at the table.

If you really need to watch programmes like this ( fantastic series by the way) in public, I think it's only right that it's just you that can see the screen.

"I think it is extremely anti social to watch something with sex and violence in it when other people can also observe the screen..doesn't matter if it's children or not."

This ^^

I don't understand the "I can do what I like and sod everyone else" comments. It says a lot about them as people really.

Otterseatpuffinsdontthey shakes head sadly Maybe they had SNs disclaimer I have two with SN 😁

I don’t like toffee! 😭 I’m going to call 101, because you didn’t get me what I want and you hurt my feelings.

Do all those saying it is fine to watching Homeland also think it was fine for a man to sit next to me and watch pornography?

What she really wanted was for you to move!

She was hardly handing round her iPad or propping it in the middle of the table so everyone couldn't avoid looking

I'll get flamed for this but I like table seats as you can put your tablet/pc on it

Not far off. It was on the table so everyone could see it, clearly, as the child could see it

I would have turned it off if I saw him looking. Might not have occured to me in pre children days, though.

If it weremy child, I would have told him to move, not asked another adult to change what they are doing.

There are people all around you dojng things you would not do. It's up to you as a parent to navigate that, not ask other people to change what they are doing. You see that with parents vs parents . It's laziness

Some people think the world revolves round them and their progeny and everyone else needs to put them first. She could have swapped seats. I'd have just told her no. Other people's kids are not my problem. I raised mine, been there, done that, now I enjoy myself on journeys as I see fit as long as I comply with the law and hte carrier's T&Cs. Plenty of people watch all manner of violent and sexual content films on long-haul flights

I think it is extremely anti social to watch something with sex and violence in it when other people can also observe the screen..doesn't matter if it's children or not.

and

First one you are being unreasonable. Second she is

What these guys said.

Yeah, cuz Homeland is just like porn. FFS.

Yeah, cuz Homeland is just like porn. FFS

It doesn't have to be for not to be advisable to watch it next to a 6/7 year old

She could have swapped seats.

Surely, if she became aware of what the OP was watching, swapping seats wouldn't have solved the issue.

Who still plays candy crush nowadays?!

"Some people think the world revolves round them and their progeny and everyone else needs to put them first"

Some people think the world revolves around them and don't give a toss about anyone else or whether their activity might be considered inappropriate.

The onus is clearly on the train company.

They should create carriages just for people who want to read or watch stuff that it's not appropriate for children or sensitive travellers. Like quiet carriages but for visual content.

I also blame phone and tablet manufacturers.
In the old days when you could only watch tv on your own tv, at home, this was not an issue.

I bet the OP would't mind travelling next to a man "reading" Playboy.

I also think it would be a good idea to have family friendly carriages, so that people with small children can all sit together, and people without can sit elsewhere.

No headphones would have been inappropriate. Headphones on, screen sat in lap, minding one's own business, well, if it's such a problem to children then campaign for the train companies so they instigate policy to police the legal content of what adults watch in case children are nearby.

Otterseat 😂

Would the OP be being unreasonable if they’d been sitting in an airline type seat and a mother of a child in the seat behind asked her to not watch that programme because her child was looking at it?