Give your child a screen and the rest of us peace

[OlympicsFanGirl]

Second long train journey this weekend and yet again a whole carriage having to put up with loud, noisy, whining kids.

It's grating and it's constant and there are hours to go.

Parents just don't seem bothered.

Rest of the carriage now sharing looks, rolling eyes and sighing.

Just give them tablets and headphones and the rest of us some peace and quiet.

Then it shouldn’t be “give them a tablet and let the rest of the carriage rest.” It should be “parent your child”

I agree with you. I was in Europe recently and the children were really well behaved so yes it is possible. I'm quite shocked people are defending poor behaviour here but I guess they are going to be offended as it's basically saying they have no control over their kids.

As a parent it doesn't matter what you do, some bugger will be judging you.

Glad the little terrors are now plugged in to their electronics and you're getting some peace!

DD (teen) and I were on a train last week and two kids (4/5 and 6/7) were constantly up and down the aisle. I had the aisle seat so got bumped by them a few times. The girl then had her mum's sandals on so we had constant noise of that then she fell over..... The parents were basically letting then do what they wanted, not trying to keep them occupied.
There were some other kids of a similar age who were great as their mum had stuff to keep them occupied. Some people just can't be arsed. That said some adults are just as annoying.

Sucks to be you! 😂

Have you asked the parent to stop the child kicking your seat?

Children should absolutely be allowed to be children but they are not the centre of the universe. These whining brats who disrupt
life for others behave the same way in school, then they become work shy adults and VERY sadly some of them have really sunk to new lows by currently causing mayhem on our streets. Manners are free and for society to function everyone has to give a little even these children’s carers; whether that is the parents on the train who could read to their children or play games with them, take colouring books for entertainment or goodness me, just talk to them because otherwise where does it all end?

I'm not sure why it's holier than though to suggest that there are possibly more options for kids on a train than -
a) being on a screen ...or
b) shouting, jumping on seats/kicking seats and playing with blinds...?

My three year old is screen free and we have a 5 hour flight on Friday. I am so anxious about it due to this poster. But not enough to give her a tablet!

Did you ask the chair kicker to stop?

I agree that children should be parented and nobody should be kicking your seat. However, I don’t think that children should be given screens. They are entitled to talk and travelling by train can be a learning experience, what they see out of the window, how far they are travelling etc.

OP I think your thread was badly titled. You've turned it into a screens v not screens debate instead of about the poor behaviour of the kids. I wasn't being "holier than thou" about my games, books etc instead of screens, just explaining what I did to occupy them. I absolutely would not let them kick seats or run about or screech (outside of tiny babyhood obvs). If you'd titled it about controlling poor behaviour and quantified what that was it would be a different conversation.

@OlympicsFanGirl , unfortunately there are very many parents who are too idle to parent and or have an elevated level of their and their children’s entitlement; it’s shocking. My children (now grown men) would never have behaved in such a manner and they did not have tablet computers. My husband and I would chat to them, play games or they would read. They were bought up to be respectful and considerate towards others. Their children are also being brought up with good manners. I dread to think what type of adults these little brats will become.

Will you let her scream for 2 plus hours, jump up and down on her chair, run up and down the aisle, kick the chair in front?

If the answer is no then you have nothing to worry about.

If the answer is is yes then you are an anti social and incompetent parent who shouldn't use public transport.

Yes of course.

It worked the first three times I asked for about 10 minutes at a time.

Were you never excited on a journey? Well done those parents for avoiding giving the children screens etc. Much better for them to be engaged with each other and the journey.
Put on your headphones and watch your own screen - the noise will fade into the background.

@OlympicsFanGirl no I wouldn't. I have bought a lot of things to keep her occupied. And no sugary snacks etc not that she has many anyway. But she's still a toddler. She may get bored or frustrated being stuck in a chair for so long. So I still worry about it.

Yes of course.

I'm sure the many other children who are behaving nicely are also excited.

I'm talking about bad behaviour that spoiling the joinery for others.

I'm sure she will be fine and I hope you have a lovely holiday.

There's a massiv difference between a fractious toddler and children who are left unchecked for hours to run riot.

My goodness! I believe that kids will be kids, but in your position, I would probably have committed murder!

Mumsnet - clearly - is very child-centric.
Ask those who think it's perfectly Ok for their children to disturb others because 'they're children' for their opinion in 20 years time and their answer will be completely different. Much the same way as it would have been different before they had children.
Funny how people always seem to think that their children are not the irritants anyone else's are.

I have no issues with kids using tablets but If they are on tablets then parents are criticised. If they are not on tablets and rambunctious parents are criticised. If parents tell them about their behaviour they are criticise. Everyone's always got something to say.

I find adults much more antisocial than kids TBH. Making calls with the phone on loudspeaker. Listening to shit on loudspeaker. Talking about inappropriate shit in public places. Oh and vaping on public transport. Adults don't respect each other but kids are expected to sit nicely and be quiet. Maybe adults need to lead by example.

That was not clear, so I apologise. I do not like noisy children either. Give them a book to read or something to colour in, perhaps. Better is for the parents to engage the children and remember that no-one else likes their children the way they like them, i.e. I do not want to play a game with your child (done that, bought the T-shirt with my own, thanks).

Any chance you can find another spot anywhere on the train and move? Thats what I do if I need to (usually noisy sometimes drunken adults).

I was on a long train journey with grizzly toddler recently. He eventually started screaming and the woman across from me tried to help and was very nice. Eventually I felt so uncomfortable she opened the buggy for me and I went and stood by the toilets/exit trying to get him to sleep. I was getting off at next station. Two men, about 50ish, came and stood near me as we approached the station. One smiled and said, "you played a blinder" I said I was worried I'd get lynched and they both reassured me, said we've all been there, don't worry about it. Then they lifted the buggy and baby off the train and waved as they went off ahead of me.

I was really touched about how supportive everyone was.