Tablets in restaurants with the sound up

[Reallyareyoukiddingme]

Help me understand please….
How selfish and lazy must you be to think it’s ok to come into a nice restaurant, sit and park your child in front of a tablet then put the sound up to max so everyone has to sit through the horror of Vampirina/Tinkerbell/some other Disney plus horror.
I am now kicking myself I didn’t say anything but was with my children (who were all happy with the restaurant provided colouring and actually talking to us) and didn’t want a fight.
I just can’t imagine how anyone can justify that kind of behaviour though? iPads I get, if you really need to use them. But seriously…..headphones?!

I agree completely, I always think to myself these people should never have had children.

I don't understand that behaviour either, but I also don't understand people who rush to the internet to post smug things like "My kids were all happy with the restaurant provided colouring and actually talking to us".

Don't you feel like a dick when you read that back? 😳

Also, having a quiet word with the staff is hardly going to cause a 'fight' is it?

yanbu.

We do sometimes take the tablets if it’s been a busy week and we need some downtime (and my kids rarely get screen time) but they know it’s headphones or no sound. And we never do it at ‘nice’ places - it’s usually a quick drink at a pub so we can talk as adults for half an hour on a weekend.

Yep massively annoying. At any restaurant - doesn't have to be a nice one either! I get it at a fast food place McDs etc but not a sit down and have dinner kind of place.
DH and I had this last week. Two adults and older child at table talking. Young child, 7/8 ish with a device playing cartoons with sound up. The adults actually sent her off their table to one next to DH and I.

DH and I kept looking over looking irritated (we were) and after a few minutes one of the adults clearly came to their senses seeing we were peed off and got her to turn it right down and sit back with them.
Isn't that what headphones were invented for?

It drives me mad, I think I have some sensory issues as once I tune into a sound like that I can’t concentrate on anything else. I’m the same on trains etc when people don’t wear headphones.

We had a big extended family event recently, a special meal in a private dining room and a couple let their five year old sit at the head of the table with their iPad on full blast without headphones, I thought it was so rude and it really affected the atmosphere.

Yeah, you're right but plenty of posters will be along shortly to tell you you're wrong and judgemental.

Cant see anyone advocating it. Selfish parenting, simple as.

Yep, extreme smugness.

I absolutely don't agree with tablets in restaurants (preferably at all, but definitely without headphones) and my kids were well behaved in restaurants, but OP has indeed made themselves look like a prize dick here

That is what headphones were made for. Drives me insane listening to distant cartoons or games. It’s just so disrespectful to other people.

😁 I think sarcasm doesn’t translate as well written down….

I can’t believe you didn’t get the staff to stop them! They would have done.

I have sometimes used tablets on public transport or in restaurants for my kids, but only with earphones or occasionally vert, vert quiet. Absolutely no excuse for loud tablets in restaurants.

Headphones are definitely a must. No issues with kids having iPads in restaurants with headphones.

Re staff, I used to be a waitress and I wouldn’t put it on them. It’s not fair to get them to police idiotic behaviour, they’re busy enough.

Complete agree. Recently back from holiday and the plane journey to and from holiday and most evening meals we experienced this from children and adults. One woman sat on the beach with her music playing full blast from her phone, after about 10 mins I did ask her to turn it down or use headphones.

I also find it really difficult to tune out a noise once I have heard it.

It is not smug! It’s a statement about DC behaving as they should. Most of us don’t want to go to into a restaurant that has numerous DC being stimulated by noisy cartoons and games. It’s rude and I would say something to management. We only took dc out when we were confident they would not annoy others. That’s my expectation from adults too.

I disagree, @Reallyareyoukiddingme
the staff should want to know all the customers are happy, kids with iPads don’t trump anyone else’s comfort or enjoyment

No she hasn't, don't be daft.

Mumsnet is the world's biggest parenting website so given how frequently this happens there will be some people here who need to hear this.

Hard disagree with this. It's the waitress's job to ensure that people enjoy the meal they have paid for. Unfortunately that includes dealing with customers whose behaviour is ruining things for other customers.

The only kind of quiet that is actually quiet enough is silent.

Headphones or sound off.

Anything else and you are being a prize dick.

It's so annoying and rude and usually thre types of parents who will get defensive if you day anything 🙄

Our DC have theirs sometimes but we insist on no volume. X

Yep silent or nothing!

Don't be daft, I've worked with the public since I was 12 years old and I'm 55 now.

When you work with the public, you deal with simple requests like this as part of the job.

There's no point moaning to the internet if a simple "Excuse me, do you think you could possibly ask that table to turn the volume down a bit please?" is beyond you.

Obviously without headphones it's obnoxious

YANBU
I know times have changed, and tablets/phones are the new colouring at the table in some cases, but please use headphones or have the devices muted.