Do you let your DC do this?

[jcmayj]

If at the dinner table or out for a meal with family, do you let your DC watch things/play on their tablets whilst you eat?

Everyone doesn't "do that already," though.
I've witnessed countless tones in restaurants where the devices come out straightaway and no one's doing any talking at all. Saw it just yesterday in a ski resort, fgs. Kids had clearly just finished a morning's exciting activity and no one seemed to be discussing what they'd done at all. Straight on a phone to play a fucking irritating loud game.

Only when my eldest was a baby/toddler.

But I don't give a shit what anyone else does. And I'd rather have a child watching a screen than one running around screaming.

Not at the dinner table at home, no.

If we are out we may take tablet/handheld games console in case the kids are finished up while the adults are still enjoying eating, or if there is some kind of big delay. They do get fobbed off with books/comics/puzzles/paper to draw on etc first, so the electronics are usually emergency backup. They are not allowed the volume up loud either!

Not whilst we’re eating. Maybe when we’re waiting for food or chatting and having a coffee afterwards and they don’t want to join in. No sound though. Don’t really care what others do, as long as it isn’t impacting on my family’s enjoyment. Sometimes you just want that 5 minutes peace which is absolutely fine in my book and probably well deserved.

I do with my toddler 18 months but there can be a long wait and if I don’t all she will want to do is run around. At home no because of course she can play while the foods being made. I generally feed her a bit while we’re eating then pop the show back on so we can finish in peice. If I’m eating alone with her out the screens generally on the whole time or I wouldn’t get a bite to eat. It’s on low though and tbh I don’t care what other people think I barely get a moments peace right now as she’s being clingy and she won’t even nap alone.

Pineappletower, you think it's a binary choice? With nothing in between? It's either a tablet or running around screaming?

12 months ago it was a binary choice with ds yes. Now we can increasingly cope without it but still need it to hand. Last weekend he happily sat making a Lego set but that doesn’t mean the same would work next eeekend!

I don't care what people do as long as the sound is off. No excuse for playing tablets or phones out loud in a restaurant.

Definitely not.

Great m0therofdragons, so when my DS is shouting, standing on the table, throwing things, you'd rather that than him have a tablet, would you?

Hell no! Going out for a meal should be seen as a treat and is about teaching them how to behave in public from an early age.
Young children can be entertained with toys/colouring or by including them in the conversation so they don't feel excluded or ignored (which in my experience from DD is when she would play up)
Also, often children kick off if they are out for dinner at a time when they are normally in bed so you should be sensible about where and at what time you take children out to eat.
The use of devices to entertain children is just lazy parenting.

The use of devices to entertain children is just lazy parenting.

The judgement of other parents who let their kids use tablets is snobbery at its worst and least educated form!

Who knows what these parents have been through in the day? Maybe they just want a nice relaxing meal so they can eat in peace?

Maybe they had something important to talk about?

Maybe they have no one to baby sit the kids and it's the only way they can get out of the house and have an adult conversation?

Maybe it's a treat and the kids asked if they could take their tablets? Maybe they've done chores at home in order to take them.

Maybe they aren't the best behaved kids in the world and the tablets stop them from making a scene? Which would also cause a lot of people to judge.

Don't judge

Who knows what these parents have been through in the day? Maybe they just want a nice relaxing meal so they can eat in peace?

Who cares, we all have shit days and that doesn't give you carte blanche to make other peoples day a bit shit through inconsiderate behaviour.

No issue with silent tablet use (I don't care what your kids do as long as they are quiet and well behaved) but if I've paid to go out I don't want to have to listen to others electronic gadgets.

@thinking54

I completely get that but you shouldn't want peace and quiet for a meal out at the detriment to everyone else there.

My point is that children shouldn't need instant amusement and going out for a meal should be an enjoyable time for everyone. So many families, including mine, do not have dinner together every evening, and I view going for a family meal as a time to be away from distractions and have the time together.

It's a little harsh to say not to judge when that is exactly what's MN is based on, particularly the AIBU page.

@choccie I think it’s very harsh to judge. That’s what AIBU is for, working out if it’s okay or not. In this case OPs judgy attitude is VU.

@ChoccieEClaire that's fine but that's your view. You don't know the family or their circumstances. It's clearly acceptable to them so that is also fine. The only thing they should of done is maybe had their tablets turned down but they maybe just didn't think 🤷🏻‍♀️ maybe it wasn't that loud in the first place though.

Maybe they are at the end of half term? It's half term where I am and I've spent every day doing different stuff with the dcs.

Going out for a meal and having time to talk to dh.....kids in their tablets.....so what? Kids are happy. Me and dh are happy. The end.