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Original poster

Horrified at 7month old in pizza express with screen

999 replies

MadeinSW3 · 22/01/2022 15:00

I went for lunch today at pizza express, there was a couple giving their ?7month old a bottle with a screen propped up with something Disney to watch. They then plopped baby into high chair and put something else on during whole time at the stable. How can people be so stupid! The baby was looking around elsewhere for something more interesting.

OP posts:
CowboyJo · 22/01/2022 22:52

@FOTTFSOFTFOASM

With older children - hangman, noughts and crosses, word games, Top Trumps, Old Maid. Not screens!
My older two wouldn't give noughts and crosses or Old Maid the time of day lol Grin
Fuckedoffisanunderstatement · 22/01/2022 22:53

@EyesAsGreenAsAFreshPickledToad

Hmm

Keep your beak out. Maybe the mum finally got a few minutes peace to enjoy a meal and adult conversation after a relentless 7 months of a baby crying.

This
Piglet89 · 22/01/2022 22:53

being a parent of babies and small children means you don't get to have an uninterrupted meal

Martyr alert.

MrsGinnyM · 22/01/2022 22:53

Yes, what a poor example OP is setting, eating pizza. She is personally responsible for the obesity crisis. Wink

imoutofhere · 22/01/2022 22:54

Seriously, get a grip...

Maybe mum has had a really tough time recently and just needs a bit of downtime, so thought she'd go out to lunch and let the baby watch a screen.

Without this downtime, mum could be super stressed and pulling her hair out at the baby.

What's best?

Piglet89 · 22/01/2022 22:55

@MrsGinnyM WISPA.

Mea maxima culpa.

buckingmad · 22/01/2022 22:55

Went for dinner last night, plonked my 6 month old in the high chair with Hey Bear sensory video on my phone. Got to eat my whole meal with two hands and whilst it was still hot. I spent the other 23 hours of the day tending to her every whim and she is the most loved baby in the world.

Do I give a flying feck what some sad, middle aged, judgemental passerby thinks? Absolutely not.

Wnkingawalrus · 22/01/2022 22:57

People just need to chill out. Seriously. We used to give DC1 an iPad in a restaurant on a fairly regular basis, probably between the ages of 2-4. Now at the age of 6 they are perfectly capable of sitting in a restaurant, doing a bit of colouring or whatever until the food arrives and then holding a conversation while we eat.

Those couple of years of giving them a screen so we could have a bit of peace during a meal doesn’t seem to have done any harm.

I would have happily given them a screen at a younger age but they weren’t interested.

FOTTFSOFTFOASM · 22/01/2022 22:57

@Piglet89

being a parent of babies and small children means you don't get to have an uninterrupted meal

Martyr alert.

Not martyrdom. Just a fact.

My DC are all now grown up, so there's no martyrdom going on here. But I do know that they needed proper interaction when they were little. In any case, going out for a meal is a social occasion, and they need to learn right from the outset that some settings demand conversation and a particular way to behave. Staring at a screen is not appropriate in this situation.

Piglet89 · 22/01/2022 22:58

What the deuce is Old Maid?

downloads.bbc.co.uk/history/handsonhistory/victorians_games.pdf

Some other ideas.

HelloBunny · 22/01/2022 22:58

Were the mum & dad sitting opposite each other on their phones as well? It’s what a lot of people do nowadays. It extends to their kids too, whatever the age.

Yumperwumpee · 22/01/2022 22:58

But by the same token, being a parent of babies and small children means you don't get to have an uninterrupted meal

Oh give over.

Yumperwumpee · 22/01/2022 22:59

In any case, going out for a meal is a social occasion

Nah, it's about stuffing my face with delicious food.

FOTTFSOFTFOASM · 22/01/2022 22:59

I think you'd be surprised at what small children find fun. The main thing they enjoy is parental attention, in whatever form it is offered. Mine still like 'silly' family games now, despite being young adults!

Shehasadiamondinthesky · 22/01/2022 22:59

Seriously, I'm 60 years old and I remember trying to eat out with my ex and wishing to God I could find something to placate my DS who was just throwing everything onto the floor and in the end we just had to leave half eaten food because he was screaming the place down.
I don''t approve of 12 hour a day screens but my God an hour or two would have been an absolute godsend.
And on plane flights to. 6 hours trying to placate a raging baby is not my idea of a fun time.

Lib3rtine · 22/01/2022 22:59

It’s a good job you didn’t see me today when I met my friends for breakfast. My 1 year old had cocomelon on my phone and I gave her some chocolate buttons as a treat. I ate my breakfast and drank my coffee in peace for 10 minutes then I gave her my full attention and she threw every toy and book I gave her on the floor, screamed and cried and just wanted to crawl which I’m sure would have annoyed every other person in the restaurant. I then took her home, took her for a walk, took her to the swings, played with her new toys, read to her, sang to her etc etc. I’m sure those 10 mins watching my phone haven’t hurt her. I actually spoke to my mum about this earlier and she said she’d have loved to have the option of phones and screens when we were young so they could enjoy a stress free meal in the 80s. Everything in moderation is fine

Yumperwumpee · 22/01/2022 23:00

With older children - hangman, noughts and crosses, word games, Top Trumps, Old Maid. Not screens

I spend enough time playing endless games of Uno with my 6 year old at home. Fucked if I'm doing that in a restaurant too. Thank the lord he can read to himself now.

SuitcaseOfWhine · 22/01/2022 23:00

@WindyState

"BA (Hons) WOW!"

I don't think someone who generated their username by smashing their face against a keyboard is in much of a position to judge anyone on education.

Their name isn't long enough, I need one that's at least two paragraphs long.
FOTTFSOFTFOASM · 22/01/2022 23:01

Old Maid is a card game, @Piglet89, which we played back in the prehistoric 2000s with our children.

People can disagree with me all they like, and as ridiculously as they like, but they are merely doing so to try to make themselves feel better. That is very much their issue, not mine.

Fhjutftjvddww · 22/01/2022 23:02

@FOTTFSOFTFOASM totally agree with you. It is our role as parents to put our children first. There is a lot to look at / talk / learn about in a restaurant if you make an effort.

Yumperwumpee · 22/01/2022 23:02

People can disagree with me all they like, and as ridiculously as they like, but they are merely doing so to try to make themselves feel better. That is very much their issue, not mine.

How's that then, as my 6 year old doesn't do screens, and I still don't agree with you. So how am I trying to make myself feel better?

Piglet89 · 22/01/2022 23:03

@FOTTFSOFTFOASM you genuinely didn’t get to have an uninterrupted meal when your kids were little (like, didn’t you have dinner after your children went to sleep?)

Also, if they’re now all adults, it’s likely you have actually forgotten just how all-consuming and relentless parenting little ones can be.

Finally, screens weren’t even an option for you. You’re claiming that, had they been, you’d never have used them?

SuitcaseOfWhine · 22/01/2022 23:03

@Yumperwumpee

Yes, funny how many people have NC just to comment on this thread.
Yes indeed 🤔
CafeConLechePorFavor · 22/01/2022 23:04

YABU

HelloFrostyMorning · 22/01/2022 23:05

Funny how you know EXACTLY how old this baby is.

Nice try @MadeinSW3