AIBU noisy children

[FlamingoFloss]

I expect I shall be flamed by this. May I start by saying I’m both a mum and a Grandma.

on a long train journey (UK). I chose to upgrade to first class because I need to do work and so need the space and the quiet.

there’s a (I presume) mum and her young child (around 4 years) in front of me. The child has been singing nursery rhymes (loudly) - (I do ordinarily love a nursery rhyme and sing them with my DGD just not on a train). The child now has a tablet and is playing games which is beeping away with loud music.

i know kids need entertaining on a long journey (I’ve done it with my own) but AIU to think in a first class carriage you should be relatively quiet with children and if you feel you can’t be then sit in a ‘normal’ seat? However, I get that even in a normal seat that it could be annoying and you should still be respectful of others but hopefully you get what I mean.

The tablet is unreasonable of them - they should use headphones - but I’d take nursery rhymes over the dickhead talking loudly on his phone all the way from York to London.

First class doesn’t buy yon quiet, and hasn’t for a long time. This is where noise cancelling headphones come in.

First class has nothing to do with this. I suggest you have a word or invest in some decent headphones for the future.

First class isn't the quiet carriage I'm afraid.

Yes I’d agree with you on the noise cancelling headphones. Interestingly, it’s gone off now after the steward spoke to them

And it wasn’t me that had ‘a word’ either

No one knows how to behave anymore. That kid will grow up thinking he can do what he likes.

I wouldn’t expect people to necessarily be particularly quiet in first class so the nursery rhymes wouldn’t bother me - that’s a normal level of small child noise I think.
Having tablet/phone blaring away without headphones is terrible manner no matter how old you are or where you are (in public anyway) so yanbu about that.

I’m a mum and I’ve worked with children for over thirty years and a tablet bleeping away and being played loudly, would piss me right off! The nursery rhymes? Not so much.
Why on earth do children need bloody screens at that age to entertain them?
I’ve taken my children here, there and everywhere on a train (before tablets etc) and we took colouring books/pens and paper/looked out of the window talking about what we could see etc.
It baffles me and it’s so bloody sad to see these days. We’re frying these kid’s brains

I've often booked a quiet carriage and had families with babies/ young children come on, and make a racket. I just don't understand parents who'd chose to do that, but there we have it. And, yes, nursery rhymes I could live with (and even find amusing), devices not so much. It is also the tantrums that ensue when parents try to take these devices off the kids - it's an addiction.

I have a 4 year old old granddaughter whose tablet is an attachment of her arm. I totally totally disagree with it. She stayed with us overnight recently and I was taking her to bed and she said, ‘nanny, where my pad? I can’t sleep without it.’. Me (horrified inside) ‘course you can sleep without your tablet, you big banana!! Let’s go and choose some books to read’.

Lesson learnt, book the quiet carriage. But I agree, noise like that is very irritating.

To be fair, I didn’t expect a silent carriage whatsoever

I don’t get the incessant need for children to be constantly entertained in public spaces such as transport, restaurants etc. I took my children out and about before tablets etc were a thing. We sat and talked to them and they were taught to sit and behave. I’m not saying they were angels and never tested boundaries but they knew there were consequences if they misbehaved.

I would tell my kid to be quiet in any class carriage. It’s so rude to disturb others. Normal chat fine, singing loudly no.

I’d expect people with kids to assume if you’ve paid for a first class ticket then you want something a bit more comfortable without unnecessary noise.

I seem to remember that when booking train tickets you can request the quiet carriage but you can't request not to sit on the quiet carriage. It's not always obvious that it's the quiet carriage.

Perhaps they’ve paid for first class because they want a bit more space as well.

First class =/= quiet

Ok, the tablet is back - on ultra loud. To be fair, the child is really sweet. Walked past me (I’m by the door), waved and sang me his ABC’s. We then talked about our respective luggage in the rack. I’m now past caring cos I’ve had a gin 🤣

The mum is now on a video call - loudly. I think they are loud people

Be brave and ask if they have headphones for the tablet.

I really really REALLY hate this increasingly common behaviour of playing phones and tablets out loud and expecting everyone else to either put up with it or have to wear headphones themselves to block it out. Headphones should be mandatory if you want to listen to something IMO (I’ve seen signs recently on the Tube to this effect and hope it catches on).

However, I think this applies equally in regular carriages as in first.

In public, no headphones=no tablet/phone. Quite simple etiquette really.
We are dragging up a generation of entitled kids and it's drving me crazy 😤

Absolutely. I asked someone if they’d had a nice time at a recent wedding. They said they had but that it was difficult to keep the 5 year-old “entertained” during the service. wtf? My kids would’ve known to sit quietly as would my sister and me as children.

Same here

I agree with you that it should be general etiquette, regardless of where you are seated and how much you have paid.

I agree with you that it should be general etiquette, regardless of where you are seated and how much you have paid.