Horrified at 7month old in pizza express with screen

[MadeinSW3]

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.

The parents have probably given the child a screen to keep things quiet out of respect to everyone else there.

You'd soon be moaning if you had a screaming baby there!!!

Jeez. Sounds like they can't win either way!

Some of the posters on here who appear to be arguing all night over such a mundane thing should really assess their own screen time

Classist slurs now eh @Fhjutftjvddww

There's absolutely no need for you to be this unpleasant just because people choose to parent THEIR children in a way you don't approve of.

@NoCaffeine

How can you tell the baby was 7 months old?

yes

I agree in general BUT I have been in the situation where I was out with family and baby just wouldn't stop screaming. Tried toys, cuddling, bottle and nothing would stop him. Put a screen on and he was quiet and everyone got to enjoy their food and baby was happy. An hour of screen time doesn't do any harm. Generally though no screens whilst eating but would never judge or be horrified about someone else's baby. Just enjoy your own food and forget about it rather than being outraged.

You have no idea what is going on in other people's lives. You saw a snapshot of part of a day. None of your business!

I would 100% judge! These are the kids that end up taking an iPad everywhere with them when they get older so their parents can have a ‘well deserved break’

@Giraffesandbottoms I’ve never done it either as I’ve only been out to eat a handful of times in 7 months but I still don’t judge other people for it as I don’t know anything about them.

MN is extremely pro-screentime. The younger the better.

Yes, I hear they're spearheading the campaign to have screens installed in women's wombs do the embryo gets constant screen time.

@buckingmad

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.

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
(And me - I have the odd moment of almost losing my sanity during the day where I'll resort to Hey Bear sensory for my 9 month old. The rest of the time, I'm fully engaged and tuned into her every need.) many people on this thread need to get a grip and find a hobby other than judging others who are doing their best to make it through a day

@mowglika

I would 100% judge! These are the kids that end up taking an iPad everywhere with them when they get older so their parents can have a ‘well deserved break’

Where did you research this? How do you know this? You don't, you're just being judgemental.

@mowglika

I would 100% judge! These are the kids that end up taking an iPad everywhere with them when they get older so their parents can have a ‘well deserved break’

What a load of shite

A silent child is the best kind of child.

In a restaurant where other child free people are eating, yes that statement is true!

Some posters were mentioning talk to your child, the world is entertaining enough to keep the little one occupied or give toys etc etc. With my little one, if we hired Cirque du soleil he would still scream the place down. You haven't walked in their shoes to qualify yourself to judge them in anyway.

Maybe they were celebrating their anniversary as they had no family or childcare nearby so had to take their baby with them just like I have in the past choosing more family friendly restaurants like Pizza Express? Maybe the parents wanted 30 minutes to themselves to eat in peace as they spend 23.5 hours of the day tuned in for the baby and it's the only time they could have a adult conversation. Maybe the parents knew that they would be judged for even taking a baby out to a restaurant and god forbid the baby cried, the parents didn't want to disturb fellow diners and decided to use screen time.

It's so easy to judge but it doesn't make you a better person or a parent when you disapprove another parent just because you don't do it. It makes you a shitty person where you equally most likely bring up shitty children.

@mowglika

I would 100% judge! These are the kids that end up taking an iPad everywhere with them when they get older so their parents can have a ‘well deserved break’

Because it affects you how? It doesn't. So keep your judgmental eyes off parents who may be struggling and have no other way of having a break.

Also why don't parents deserve a break, in your opinion?

When I was struggling with panic attacks my GP and HV both insisted I find a way of having some time to myself, if only half an hour to eat my lunch, as it would greatly improve not only my mental health but my parenting. Being a single mum of a toddler and newborn at the time I'm so glad they understood that sometimes all your brain really needs is a short break, then back on with the engaged parenting. We read, did shape sorting, puzzles, messy play, outdoor play.. But occasionally I needed to let my brain reboot, or even just needed to do a job I couldn't do with my hands full of child, and my DC never came to any harm from being popped in front of the tv for a while, or given an iPad to play a counting game on as they got a bit older. They met all their milestones and then some for speech, communication and vocabulary and all had a reading age of 12 by the time they were 6 because I taught them how to read before they started school. They weren't permanently attached to a screen when we went out, just when they were getting bored and the usual distractions weren't working. So keep your judgement to yourself. You have no idea what's going on in other peoples lives.

And I'm not defending my parenting, there's nothing to defend, I've raised 2 kids to adulthood already and they're very happy with the way they were raised. In the end your kids the only ones who's opinion matters on this subject.

I would 100% judge! These are the kids that end up taking an iPad everywhere with them when they get older so their parents can have a ‘well deserved break’

Oooh where did you get your judgey pants? Did they come with matching hoiky bosom bra and a set of pearls?

I couldn't have given a shiny shite dipped in chocolate what, how or where you would have judged. What's wrong with parents having a well deserved break (note lack of inverted commas)?

Shameful and there really is no excuse. Children shouldn't even see a screen till 3-4 years old.

Seriously, another ridiculous sentiment.

Guess what, the worlds moved on. Screens are part of everyday life including education. Schools use them nowadays. If you completely deny your child screen use you're actually putting them at a disadvantage, not teaching them skills they need. IT knowledge is an incredibly useful and necessary skill. Just because something wasn't around in your childhood and you turned out fine doesn't mean they're not around now and can't be beneficial.

@Fhjutftjvddww

God MN is grim.

Grim Such a lazy word.

That just seems bizarre to me!!

@bluechilli47

You shouldn't judge. You've know idea what's been going on. Might have been the only peace they could get.

Not particular to this case but I think we should all judge a bit more.

There have been a spate of children killed in domestic circumstances and, although I'm sure the murderers covered up what they were doing, they won't have been able to do all the time and that's when-when anyone from schools to social services to police and society in general-should have judged.

I'm not for one second saying this was the case with this baby but rather reacting to the oft quoted phrase, 'don't judge, you don't know what their lives are like'.

I say we should all judge a bit more.

Yeah well your 'just stating a fact' @Fhjutftjvddww got removed, so that's all you need to know about how vile your comments are.

What precisely is wrong with me saying that a parenting course I attended was focused on addressing the very parenting techniques that are being defended on this thread, for the precise reason that it results in poor outcomes and can be indicative of other deficiencies in parenting that result in SS intervention is utterly beyond me. Give the terrible reports about neglect and abuse in this country I find it seriously concerning that a reference to this correlation has been deleted.