Parents shouldn't use mobiles around their children

[SmudgeButt]

OK I know some will think this is ridiculous. And just for context I'm not saying that parents shouldn't have mobiles but simply not use them when they are out and about with their children.

There's been lots on the news about how schools want to restrict students using mobiles during school hours. But these are kids that have been raised with practically ever adult around them with a mobile glued to their hand.

I've seen parents out pushing buggies with an excited child pointing at flowers or doggies or whatever and the parent is just walking along like a zombie, ignoring the child and simply staring at or talking on their mobile. I've even seen children with buggies or at restaurants that have a tablet, real or plastic, for them to look at and play with rather than engaging with anything else in the world.

Yes I know some children for whatever reason need to have a distraction in order to be in whatever public space. And I know that we all want to have a mobile in case of emergencies or if there's a real need to contact someone.

I guess my issue here is that the other day I was in a restaurant with DH having a breakfast out together and he said, "oh look that woman is talking to her child!" The entire time she and her friend were having their coffee etc they both talked to the child, involved her in the conversation, let her sit quietly for a bit, played with her. Simply engaged with the child as adults would normally but without any IT distractions.

Thoughts?

Come on, stop deliberately missing the point everyone. It is not about using phones for necessary, practical things.

Stop deliberately missing the point that this is why the vast majority of mums will use their phones for around their kids. There aren't millions of mothers walking about ignoring their kids all the time so they can look at insta.

Exactly.

Neglectful parents were neglectful long before devices existed.

I did a lot of work from my phone, monitoring rotas and scheduling etc when my kids were younger. It meant less time at work, more time at home but I meant they never had to go to breakfast/after school club or have any childcare. There were times when I wasn't as 'present' as I would have liked to be but I was always there.
On a very honest level, watching kids play in a park for hours on end was bloody boring! I'm not saying that I didn't play with them but they had each other/friends to play with, so, I probably looked like a neglectful parent if someone looked at a snapshot of me scrolling through social media or browsing at holidays.

Best thing you can do is realise that you have absolutely no idea what is going on in other peoples lives and keep your judgements to yourself.

Parenting is a social role. The welfare of the child trumps the individual preferences of the parents.