To tell my stepkids' mum this isnt acceptable?

[Carrie90]

I have two step kids (11 & 8) who come to stay on the weekends. We have been having them over as long as my DH and I have lived together so 5 years, and in that time I've noticed a huge change in them. Their mum seems to let them stay on technology most of everyday and they have started speaking and acting like youtubers. They often talk to me as if they are talking to a camera and say a lot of American phrases in place of things they used to say. I believe they do go on walks most days but while they are in the house its technology for hours and hours each day. We have actual tears and tantrums here when we tell the kids to do something else for a few hours.
My question is, should I ask my partner to say something about this to their mum? Or is this considered normal amd im just being an old square? I like their mum, my partner has a good enough relationship with her too.

Yeah I'd leave it. I'm 32 and my mum was reminiscing just yesterday about how I had a faux-American accent and said things like "trash can" from watching American TV programmes when I was little. I do not talk like that anymore! I think it's natural for children to copy accents they hear. It's not new.

I think the main issue here is you are the one looking after your kids on what should be their father's contact time. What is the point??

@Delaberge

Another one who thinks its fairly normal and to stay out of it.

How do you tubers speak?

I suspect a lot of narrating what you're up to in an American accent with lot of American words/pronunciation thrown in (vase rhyming with base)

keep your snout out

Errr... out of what? You mean out of what happens in OP’s own home? Why should she? She is left to look after these kids at weekends she has every right to have a say.

Getting teens (and pre-teens) off devices can be a challenge but maybe just try to encourage a few other activities- cooking, tie-die or crafts, board games, family movies, watering garden, play dates with friends, walk in the woods, paddle in a river, cycle ride, if you are ok for money some outside activities are starting to open up (tennis courts, crazy golf, Lido’s etc). Easier said than done but if you encourage alternatives then they may surprise you. Then accept that the rest of the time they may be online more than you would like.

I think the best advice on here has been to positively plan activities, so that they're not on their devices all the time. After all, you can't leave them in the house on their own, can you? We're not in lockdown, so we no longer have to stay at home.

They're not your kids.

Not your place, even if you are right. Mention it to your partner. It's up to him if he says anything.

Sounds like they are developing at a normal rate :-} It would be very worrying if children of that age did NOT change hugely over five years ; both in speech vocabulary and interests.

If you want to get them off the screens then you'll need to provide some alternative fun ways to spend time at your place, preferably something they don't do anywhere else , which you can all do together. Tennis, swimming, ice and roller skating. Trip to the library. Crazy golf.

 Free activities;  When they are at our place  our  grand kids  enjoy  any kind of nature or craft projects,   playing  all the  very oldfashioned family board and card  games ,  and  helping us with gardening or  any  DIY project  (wall paper stripping was a runaway success).  When they were very  small we used to take the dog for a walk. Dog  wore two leads, one for each child.