Are parents too relaxed about children using devices loudly on flights?

[Mapletree1985]

I fly a lot for work, and recently I've noticed more and more that parents are allowing their young children to watch/listen to their device at full volume, both in the departure lounge and on the plane, with no consideration for the nerves of people subjected to non-stop children's programs for hours or end.

Just the other day I was sitting in front of two kids and their dad; each child was playing their own show at full volume, and they weren't the same shows. The amount of inane jingle-jangly children's show music, and beeping and booping and silly voices, was just intolerable.

Dad was sitting next to them wearing noise-cancelling headphones.

Eventually I took my courage in both hands and asked them to turn it down, and to their credit, they did so immediately and politely. So the two things I don't understand are this:

1. why didn't it occur to the Dad that people would be made uncomfortable or even distressed by the non-stop noise coming from his kids' devices? Why didn't he do something about it before I asked? Was he hoping no one would say anything? Did he really think no one would be bothered, when he himself had such low tolerance for their noise that he was wearing noise-cancelling headphones?

2. Why don't these parents buy headphones for their kids?

I've seen it mentioned before on MN that people are increasingly treating shared public spaces the same as their private, at-home spaces. Is this ongoing nuisance just something I need to get used to?

To answer both questions, because they are selfish and don't give a fuck.

I don't think this is a parent and child issue - the other day on a train the conductor had to tell the elderly lady sitting next to me to use headphones or turn off the sound on her mobile. On the bus I see teens and middle aged people of both sexes having calls on loudspeaker, watching shows etc.

So I think it's a general problem, not a parent problem.

It makes me feel murderous being forced to listen to Peppa bloody Pig or whatever it is when I'm on a plane. Boggles my mind that so many people really do not give AF about those around them. It's infuriating, but good for you for asking them to turn it down.

I was on a plane recently where a 40-something teenage man started playing his gameboy, with the accompanying bleepy soundtrack up full volume. An air hostess immediately went over to him and said 'that's quite an annoying sound, would you like to turn it down?'. 💖

No, but they are probably too stupid to bring the right kind of headphones. You can’t use the ear protection ones on a flight because the volume is too low to hear. Or they are dumb and forgotten them. I would absolutely never let my dc watch anything in public that made a sound. I made them turn it down if I can hear it through the headphones.

Though I agree with the others, the only time this has happened to me in real life it’s been an adult (with no children). Went out to dinner last year and there was an entire table of 50-something couples watching like a series at full volume while eating! 😂 Why did you not get a takeaway if you wanted to watch Love Island while having dinner?

I’ ve only seen adults doing it.

What on earth?! Like an iPad on the table?

Given the amount of people on the bus and train that I see daily that play mysic loudly, talk on speakerphone and play youtube videos without headphones, I'd say this is NOT a parenting issue.

Some people are selfish. People don't change when they have kids.

Probably half of train passengers seem to annoy me with their noisy devices. Even a lot of headphones are useless. I sat next to a man the other day (thankfully the journey was only half an hour )He had ear pod type headphones, I could hear just about every word of the music he was playing. The person behind had headphones and I could hear the beat of their music and somewhere else in the carriage someone had a kids game/toy making an annoying and repetitive noise without headphones!

This is a society-wide etiquette issue, not solely confined to parents/children. I see all ages doing this.

Whilst we are on it why so many people now seemingly incapable of entertaining their children / keeping their children quiet without locking them into a device?
Mine are teens but I used to travel to visit my parents who live abroad on my own regularly with 3 kids and often did trips that door to door lasted 8 hours and didn't use screens. Nothing wrong with using screens for a bit of that time but I see people who's kids are wired up at the airport, in the queue and on the plane. Maybe talk or read to them. Or get them to sit quietly for 10 mins.
Once we are in my parents' country I am always amazed at how the kids there will sit still and quiet on our onward bus for a few hours. Better than mine ever did.
Those that allow the noise to blast are unbelievably selfish and in my fantasies would have their devices removed and smashed up immediately. Whilst a mob threw rotten tomatoes at them.