We often have this problem when we go out with my Husband’s family of screen time at the dinner table. We don’t get together often, birthday’s and other general celebrations. But the other children (3 and under) are plopped into a high chair and immediately handed an Ipad with their favorite show turned on. My poor neglected infant and, now 14-year-old, are not allowed such devices at the dinner table. Even my Husband and I have a no phone rule while eating. Home or otherwise. I sit in my chair and I won’t lie, I judge the crap out of my in-laws. I’m pretty open-minded about other parenting but this is one I just can’t get past. Am I crazy?
My 14-year-old learned how to act in a restaurant by sitting correctly, not wandering with food, not having a device other than the provided crayon and paper and if she acted up, I hauled her ass out to the parking lot to have her pull her shit together and not ruin everyone else’s meal. We sat as a family and played tic-tac-toe or I spy and also managed conversation together. I’m not saying it was always perfect but she learned how to be a human and have conversation. I would like for Cora to learn the same thing.
The only thing I see in my in-laws kiddo’s is the inability to interact with others in public. I know for a fact this is their normal at home procedure-eating in front of the TV. Don’t even get me started on how I feel this creates eating issues.
Why are we as a society so quick to shut our kids up or stick them in a corner to be entertained?
Call me crazy, but we are following the recommendation of not allowing our child electronics, technology, TV, or whatever till the age of 2. I don’t turn on Disney, Baby TV or anything else for Cora and we don’t have apps downloaded on our phone for her enjoyment. Yes, our TV is on in the background when we are home but we normally don’t sit down to watch our shows till after she is in bed.
Isn’t the world around her enough? How much do you allow your children? Are you the family I’m judging at the restaurant?
Through My Mistakes 
I’m with you on the no screen time, but I also have stopped judging A LOT since becoming a parent, because there have been so many times I said “I won’t ever do (insert thing I started doing as soon as I became a mom).” BUt I’m so opposed to screen time as well that I wonder if my stance will hold true through the years… We sometimes have TV on in the background on the weekends or in the evenings and sometimes e will fixate for a few seconds but we don’t actually watch television til after he goes to bed. And one of my absolute favorite things is family dinners!! How are you supposed to talk and find out about each other’s days if you’re on screens? Plus it’s so much fun watching E trying to eat.
Exactly. I’m pretty calm on a lot but man this one just gets me! I know technology has to be apart of their world eventually and that is just the times but I think they need to be babies while you know, they are actually babies! Glad I’m not the only crazy one out there:)
I’m right there with you. My kids (now 10 and 14) only had crayons or whatever pen or scrap of paper I had in my purse to keep them busy. They were so deprived. LOL I think coloring and drawing helps so much with their hand-eye coordination when it comes time to start kindergarten. I’m not sure how much the ipad would benefit them in this area (we still don’t have one – only a Kindle – and we just got that for the 14yr old this year). I try not to judge others, but if my kids were little, I don’t think I’d give them an ipad either.
I’m glad I’m not the only crazy one! I get technology is different than when we were little but I just can’t stand the faces glued to a screen thing. So much deprivation:) haha!
We’re pretty much the same. The tv is usually on for background. Occasionally we’ll do Sesame Street for her if she’s just having a rough time because she loves Elmo. This has helped a lot with the occasional suppository she has to have because of her constipation. At restaurants though I am antiphone. I get so pissed at my husband if he gets on his-and we’ve been this way since before the baby came. At home the phone is only at the table to provide music.
Good for you guys! And whatever helps the poor kiddo with suppository! I just feel like dinner time is so important!
Our family, which consists of me, my husband, 3 1/2 year old boy, and 9month boy and girl twins. When our oldest was born no screen time except when I was cooking dinner, baby TV, until he was two so about and hour a day. I know so ppl think even an hour is too much at that age. But I like to cook and we like to have a good meal and I didn’t wanna be tripping over him every 30sec. Now that we have three kids, which by the way the twins were a surprise we were ok with 1 and maybe two total, we do allow screen time at restaurants. My 3 1/2 year old has a very closely monitored nabi. Every family dinner at home, every holiday, every get together at a friends or birthday. No screen time. If it’s a casual just whatever we wanna eat out. We absolutely take his tablet!!!! We don’t pull it out the second he sits down. We talk to him color and play with cars. Buy yes it is allowed. Mostly is for when he takes four bites of his Mac and cheese eats all his fruit and drinks his milk in five min and my husband and I wanna enjoy or meal we are paying for together which our son loosing his shit and having to take him to the car. So that is when he gets his tablet. But even so so begavior is still completely unacceptable and he gets taken to the car anyway. But I don’t want the table next to me to hear 100 times are we going soon please? Are you done eating? Can I go to nana and papas. I get sick of answering and tellin him it’s enough. So that’s my two cents! But in no way do we judge family who don’t allow it. However, if you kid is running up and down the isles hanging over the back or the booth or screaming we have a problem. I 100% judge you.
I do see the point in partial entertainment for the sanity of everyone at the table and around you! That I honestly don’t judge. It is the non-stop screen time that irritates me. The lack of even trying to entertain a child with something else first. The kid hanging over the booth and running aisles makes me bat shit crazy. I’m with ya there!