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 think as a society we all need to start creating a scene until these people learn that their behaviour is unacceptable.

If every table in the vicinity asked to be moved away from the people making a horrible noise, they might get the message.

One answer is screen-free restaurants. Like the US rolling out tipping-free ones. I’d pay extra for that.

Then people who want or feel their children need to be plugged in during a meal can use the screen-places and I can enjoy somewhere with a decent atmosphere.

Or “screen areas” in restaurants - like we used to have smoking areas - where families who want to bring an iPad to dinner can sit.

YANBU. I had the misfortune to sit next to a table of 5 adults and 1 child watching a very noisy TV program in another language at full blast last week. I was so angry at the adults and the waitress who said nothing. It’s so disrespectful. Some people have no manners.

It is incredibly rude and very annoying and as bad if not worse on a plane which I had recently. Honestly earphones or nothing and I hate when people then use SEN as the excuse as we are also an SEN household with sensory issues around noise so while they think oh well my child needs this and cant have earphones mykids have to wear loops because of your kids. No respect.

100% agree. I was on a train last week (local line so no quiet carriage) on the way out a lady had music blaring despite having a blue tooth earpiece in - she chose to share her awful music and jig about in her seat. On the way home 5 teenage boys were huddled around table watching an action film with the sound blaring. What would it be like if all passengers did this - so selfish and entitled. 👿

I tend to play a game on my phone (on silent) when on the train to pass the time. I once had someone opposite me playing a film out loud. Someone asked them to turn it down he told them to fuck off. So another bloke turned his film up loud instead of headphones. I then turned my game to to full volume.
Original offender shouted that everyone could fuck themselves and he moved carriages. I know he likely then went on to annoy others but our section of the carriage could now enjoy peace anyway.

Last time I was in a restaurant and had to endure this on the table next to us I asked politely if they could turn it down and was refused.
Husband asked for the manager to attend our table and said if it persistscwe will leave our meals and not pay. 2 other tables then agreed.
Music was turned down.

It is extremely selfish behaviour on the part of the parents that they allow their DC to do this. Unfortunately those children then grow up into young adults who listen to everything with the sound on. DD has never ever had the sound on anything.

I do wish that restaurants would put up signs asking for no volume on gadgets.

That’s awful! We had the complete opposite experience on a flight recently - the family sat in front of us had their child watching Peppa Pig on a phone with the volume turned right up. None of the other passengers had actually complained yet, but one of the cabin crew noticed it and immediately told the parents that their child either had to use headphones or the sound had to be turned off. I was horrified by the fuss the mother kicked up - she literally screamed at the crew until she was told to sit down, stop shouting & turn the volume off or the whole family would be removed from the flight! Was so grateful to the crew for dealing with it properly, but felt so sorry for them having to put up with that kind of behaviour. The entitlement of these people is unreal!

wonderful!

Mindless shit is exactly right

@TheClawDecides

"Are you saying parents who allow tablets in restaurants (even with the volume off) are no good parents and are lazy?

Because if so, that sounds a bit dickish too."

Yes. Yes I am 🤷‍♀️

I don’t know how many headphones we went through until we found ones that worked for our ASD child. It was very expensive, but we made it happen before we used the tablet in public. We never even considered just imposing sound on other people.

Had this on a train this weekend (in the quiet coach, naturally). I asked the staff if they could have a word and she said staff now don’t like to interfere with parenting unless it’s a safety issue, due to the likelihood of parents getting aggressive/abusive with staff.

World’s gone mad!

Thanks for clarifying 👍

My kids are adults now and there was no such thing as ipads when they were small, so it was all colouring books and conversation.

But I would consider myself very narrow minded indeed, if I were to think a couple of kids quietly looking at an ipad in a restaurant with no sound, automatically meant they were born to 'lazy no good parents'.

But there you go.

Tablets with headphones, absolutely fine. Without and volume up, selfish.

This

Also it's depressing when families are out for dinner all sat there on screens ignoring eachother

This is exactly the response I would have expected. Very depressing but not surprising.

Yanbu.

I let my kids have their tablets, but it's either headphones on or mute. I don't want to listen to it and I'm their parent, no way would I expect other people to put up with it!

I’ve always wanted to be brave enough to do this. I dream about standing next to the selfish idiots playing my phone really loud do they understand what it’s like

Not just restaurants, public transport too. And I don't care whether the noise is a child's programme or an adult show or music - it is all unwelcome and inappropriate in a public space.

Either use headphones or turn your fucking device OFF. No exceptions. Headphones are a lot cheaper than the tablet they're using, so there is no excuse for it at all.

When I am queen of the world, such offenders will be first against the wall. Or at the very least their phones/tablets will be smashed to smithereens.

Very quiet is not enough. It doesn't matter how quiet you think it is - people can hear it and it will be pissing them off. A quiet noise is no less annoying and intrusive.

Either use headphones, or accept that you can't watch things on the iPad in public spaces. You remembered to bring the iPad? You can remember to bring the headphones.

God this literally gives me the rage. I ask people to turn it down or use headphones . Not had anyone refuse yet!

Unless people complain and leave if it's not resolved then it will become the norm.

You saying the staff are busy enough as it is butI'm afraid is just ridiculous. The restaurant should want to ensure that people enjoy themselves by enforcing standards if behaviour. The staff are responsible for this.