Bad parenting??

[Littlegreenjug]

Husband and I live in tourist area so we get family wanting to visit quite a lot. We have plenty of room so not a problem and we quite enjoy showing people the sites etc.
stepson, his wife and 2.5 yo here this week. I have had to continually bite my tongue at how they interact ( or not!!) with child.
they give her their phones to watch whenever they want peace which is more or less all the time. Give her sweets between meals or if she refuses to eat meal. Stepson is particularly bad as he sits scrolling on his phone (with the sound up) whenever he is in the room. Child is virtually ignored.
obviously they feel like they are on holiday and we as grandparents should be doing our bit, which we are, but they never even say ‘can you keep eye on 2.5 whilst I nip up to the shower….’ They just go!
my own kids are grown up with older grandchildren. I don’t recall this level of screen use etc with them. Is this the norm these days or aibu?

Shame if the WiFi went down next time they visited..

I'm sure people will be along to tell you not to judge, you're only getting a snapshot of their lives etc., but yeah, they sound shit. In 5 years time they'll be wondering why they have such a difficult time communicating with their daughter.

Doesn’t sound great but how people parent in a different environment on holiday isn’t alway reflective of what they do the rest of the time.

I think them being on holiday is an important factor here - is there much in the house (toys, puzzles, books etc) to entertain a toddler?

Bollox.
Being on holiday does not absolve parents of interacting with their children.

As to the OP providing toys and games??? That's not OP's problem.

If thats how they are in company, God only knows what they're like at home.

Yes it's bad and negligent parenting.

Scrolling on your phone in company with the sound up is rude, and that's before you even consider how shit the parenting is.

Yes it's bad parenting but I think it's very common unfortunately.

I'd tell him to turn sound off for a start and then I'd tell him about phubbing
https://www.verywellmind.com/parental-phubbing-makes-kids-feel-ignored-5441938#:~:text=%E2%80%9CPhubbing%20can%20make%20a%20child,the%20attention%20they%20are%20craving.

Have they taken them out to see the sites where you live, is this just happening at down time at home where everyone is tired? If not then you’re not being unreasonable, that’s not the norm if frequent behaviour from the parents.

Yep. Lazy parenting. It's pretty rampant these days - babies are introduced to phones and ipads when they're barely out of the womb. Some 3 year olds can navigate their way round an ipad better than me! It's really sad. There's barely any toy stores around- there's no demand, because it's easier to sit their kids in front of social media than actually play with them.

Stepson has spent hours in his phone. I came down this morning he was on it in kitchen, sound up. I politely asked him to turn it off so I could put radio on. He huffed and went into lounge!
we do have toys here for little one but neither parent seems interested in actually sitting on floor playing with him like I do. They just expect him to play on his own?
when we have been to their house they have the tv on constantly too, inane stuff. Toddler stares at it or a tablet even though they have piles of plastic toys!
I find it really sad but don’t say anything as don’t want them to think I am awful