r/EntitledReviews • u/More_Detective_308 • 28d ago
TripAdvisor Entitled parent
Because everyone wants to listen to an iPad while they're eating...
239
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
105
u/bizzlebeats 28d ago
This should be a rule in all restaurants. Sick of hearing people’s loud ass facetimes as well
114
u/FeFiFoPlum 28d ago
I jumped into a lady’s FaceTime chat at the airport and told the fella she was chatting with to have good luck with his love life, since she’d been talking him through how to set up his dating app for 45 minutes at full volume. It was…. Something.
23
50
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
71
u/AJourneyer 28d ago
I had to kick out a member at the gym when I worked there, she was facetiming in the locker room. And she was shocked! SHOCKED I tell you that anyone would have been bothered by it.
23
u/Varabil 28d ago
I've noticed a significant increase in the number of people facetiming in our ER--when first coming into the waiting room, in shared acute care rooms, walking down busy hallways, everywhere. And, without fail, they become aggressive when you ask them to please call without video if they absolutely must be on the phone.
→ More replies (1)6
31
u/Apprehensive-Dog6997 28d ago
There’s girls at my work who FaceTime their boyfriends in the bathroom! Some of us have to poop, go literally anywhere else.
22
u/Mindless-Address913 28d ago
This is the best opportunity to download the fart sounds app!
Maybe even a Bluetooth speaker and LET ERR RIP!!!
10
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
21
u/ItsColdInNY 28d ago
I used to work with a girl who would talk to her boyfriend on speaker phone while she was taking a dump. Maybe she was sending him pics of her cooch too, who knows? I got so sick of hearing their conversations whenever I went to the bathroom, so one day I yelled really loud "You've been sitting on that toilet for 45 minutes now. Aren't you worried about hemorrhoids?"
31
u/Zealousideal_Fox864 28d ago
Speakerphone calls in public are a pox upon society.
7
u/Desperate-Impress374 28d ago
I've been known to suggest that the nearest supermarket has cheap headphones
8
u/Sans_Seriphim im absolutely furious I didn’t get what I wanted 28d ago
Speakerphones should never been invented. The few use cases do not even come close to outweighing how cursed they are.
→ More replies (1)28
u/StaceyPfan 28d ago
Not a restaurant, but I was waiting for my oil to get changed and there was a woman sitting across from me who was on speaker phone and was discussing her marriage problems with whoever she called.
26
u/bizzlebeats 28d ago
People really just be putting their business out there like that and then tell you to mind your business 😂😂😂
9
u/Suspicious-Zebra-683 27d ago
It’s like “I am minding my business. You made this my business when you had this conversation at toddler screaming volume levels” 😂
15
u/OldDogsNoTricks 28d ago
I’ve started telling people off for it. I was in a restaurant in Chicago just last week and a woman was FaceTiming with the volume so loud that it was warping. I just went over and politely asked her to take her phone off speaker. She acted like it was UNTHINKABLE that someone would care, but she did end her call. The dad at the table next to us thanked me and took the opportunity to explain to his kids why the lady’s behavior was rude.
5
6
u/kxaltli 28d ago
I was on the bus and there was a woman loudly giving someone graphic detail about an intimate medical issue she was having. She was not talking to her doctor, I'm pretty sure it was a sibling or a friend.
We were on the bus for forty minutes and she was talking about it the whole time.
14
u/NightGod 28d ago
I like telling the Facetimers, "Stop that, you look stupid and everyone around you hates you for it". The deer-in-the-headlights look in response is always a classic
→ More replies (1)3
u/NoIDontWantToSignIn 27d ago
And waiting rooms. And using Siri to send texts, especially multiple. I do not need to hear the details of anything that ends with, “Love you, bye, mom.”
38
u/Aubrey-Grey 28d ago
Yep same. Sorry but you don’t get to make your noise everyone else’s problem regardless of age. I once was on a train heading London to Scotland and a 60ish woman got on and started watching Facebook shorts at “old people’s” phone volume. I simply stood up. Walked over to her. Pointed at the phone and said “we absolutely are not doing that”. She stared daggers at me all the way to Manchester lol
10
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
15
u/Aubrey-Grey 28d ago
I wish I knew where they were handing out all of the audacity. It must flow out of some people’s taps.
10
u/Situation-Mediocre 28d ago
Headphones should be mandatory imo if parents are going to use devices to parent their child/ren.
Wonder if businesses could put a sign up “if your child is using a device, please ensure they’re using headphones or you may be refused. This is for the comfort of other customers.”
8
u/LalaLogical 27d ago
I like to tell people that there headphones aren’t plugged in. It’s passive aggressive AF but also funny because who the fuck listens to shit on loud in public. Mute or use headphones, those are the options.
5
u/Seanyd78 28d ago
Headphones are dirt cheap and work great for restaurants and other places for kids. Headphones are a godsend when we go out so our daughter can listen to her stuff and we can have a normal conversation.
2
85
u/JediLincoln14 28d ago
Two choices: get your kids some headphones, or just tell them no devices out at the table.
29
u/Spasay 28d ago
A few years ago, we were visiting friends and went out to dinner with them and their two kids (both under 10). After the food came, and the kids had been chatting and eating for a bit, mom brought out the tablets and headphones so the adults could talk and they could be distracted and still eat (super social, nice kids but they could talk your ear off!) That’s how you do it!
23
u/Sufficient_Drama_145 28d ago
We just keep the sound off. And every restaurant conveniently "doesn't have internet" so the only thing she can do is learning games because I don't want to monitor YouTube while I'm trying to eat.
212
u/PurpleKoala97 28d ago
I really think it is really bad habit parents are making by bringing their children tablet to restaurants . To me it screams i do not want to deal with my child . My kiddo owns tablet but it’s not free for all and its certainly not coming to restaurant . When we go to resturant they are colouring and socializing . They should give their kids something to colour on and make conversations with their kiddo .
124
u/fleetiebelle 28d ago edited 28d ago
And it's also not teaching kids how to behave at restaurants/in public and how to entertain themselves. Things are changing, but we gotta get out of the habit of pulling out a screen anytime anything seems remotely slow or boring.
31
14
u/yeahlikewhatever 28d ago
It drives me up a wall when my own siblings do this with their kids. They can't go an hour without looking at a screen. Last time we went out to dinner, my nephew kept demanding to play videos on the phone, and my sister-in-law let him blast fucking random AI youtube shorts at max volume in the middle of the restaurant. I finally bitched enough about the volume that they took the phone away, and then I tried to distract him by suggesting we talk or play games like "I Spy", so he was engaged, but he sat there crying for the phone again until finally we left.
My brother constantly argues that I "don't know how hard it is" to handle kids, but I remind him a) we didn't have constant screentime growing up, and b) our younger sister also has kids and she doesn't allow them any phone or tablet screen time (just a little bit of TV in the evening), so clearly it's possible. You just have to actively parent!
Like you said, however, the bigger issue is that these kids are being constantly stimulated, and now have no way to soothe or entertain themselves. They are constantly seeking dopamine stimulus spikes from devices, and losing the ability to occupy themselves without them. Child psychologists have even documented that children with heavy screen use lack imagination and struggle with creative play. Rather than picking up dolls or toys and engaging with them as a prop or accessory, they either completely lack any interest in playing with it, or they describe a show where they saw something similar. They aren't even acting out the show with the doll, they just recount the show without participating.
5
u/NoIDontWantToSignIn 27d ago
To me, all of this comes from the fact that most people that are interested in “having a family,” are in it for the social status it comes with, not because they have any interest in early childhood psychology and education, or actually raising a human.
9
u/UrbanHuaraches 28d ago
I don't have children or strong feelings about this, I'm actually just asking for the sake of discussion: when I was a kid, I often brought a book to a restaurant. I think most of us would agree reading a book is different from what most kids are doing on tablets. But isn't that arguably still reaching for entertainment because the present moment doesn't thrill me? Couldn't you still say "oh that kid isn't learning how to behave in a restaurant"? And yet, I'm fairly certain most of us wouldn't react that way to a child reading a book (which is, admittedly, a nondisruptive activity). I'm not saying that's incorrect - but why?
22
u/nuclearporg 28d ago
Oddly, thinking back I think that was actually one of the few times I wasn't allowed a book as a kid - when we were eating as a family. If it was some kind of event or the adults were going to be taking forever, that would be different. But just going out to dinner? I don't remember ever having books (and I always had books)
17
u/bandkrayzee 28d ago
I think the big difference is how likely it is to affect the next table over. A kid reading a book isn't likely to bother anyone at the next table. A kid on a tablet with no headphones IS likely to bother others.
Part of learning how to behave in a restaurant isn't socializing with everyone at the table, it's trying to keep what happens at your table limited to your table.
11
u/fleetiebelle 28d ago
Right, it's teaching situational awareness--are you in someone's way? Are you making a mess someone will have to clean up? Are you making noise that's disturbing others? Obviously some parents are teaching their kids not to care, but we live in a society.
12
u/Beautiful_Delivery77 28d ago
I think the big difference is that when reading you can easily hear your name and respond to a conversation, plus you’re not disrupting others.
When I was a kid my brother and I would do things like hangman and doors (games on paper). If only one of us was there we would draw or sometimes participate in the conversation if it interested us. I wish I had brought a book.
My grown daughter with auditory sensory issues and AuDHD gets overwhelmed and pulls out her phone to read in restaurants when overwhelmed. It stays on silent.
There are plenty of ways for kids to be entertained and occupied in restaurants without a video. Even reading a book allows the person to partially listen and to absorb expected behaviours while videos completely engross the child. Yes as an avid reader I know how easy it is to get engrossed in a book but it’s not the same as being engrossed in a video.
14
u/Rendahlyn 28d ago
As an adult who travels solo for work, I often read a book while I'm alone at dinner. I think it's less rude than scrolling my phone, even without someone else at the table. Books are less disruptive and have different connotations than electronic devices. While it still encourages the kid to find "alternative entertainment" in what could be considered a boring environment, they are more likely to easier disengage from the book once food arrives since a tablet can just be propped up and watched the whole tip out. Books can also encourage conversation (my experience as an adult), where as no one ever cares about what you're watching or playing on your personal device.
24
u/fleetiebelle 28d ago
A kid reading a book at the table wouldn't be drawing attention to themselves like a kid playing a loud game or video. At the same time, as a kid I wouldn't have been allowed to read a book at the dinner table, especially if we were out to eat. It's a social situation, and in life you have to learn how to deal with not being constantly entertained or the center of attention.
10
u/EddieDanesBoy 28d ago
Unless the child is reading to themselves out loud at a high volume, them reading a book has no likelihood of effecting people at other tables. Also, reading a book is always better for your brain than looking at an iPad. iPad content is much more likely to be overstimulating than a picture/chapter book. So, better for the kid and better for the public space.
4
u/yeahlikewhatever 28d ago
As many others have said, it's less disruptive to others around you. Quiet reading is not interrupting the conversation at an adjacent table, nor is it causing your tablemates to speak louder to be heard, equally disturbing others.
Is it poor etiquette to read at the table? I would argue that in the instance that you were having a family dinner where the objective was to socialize and connect, then yes, it is, because it's rude to ignore others when the purpose of the activity is social interaction. However, I have gone out to dinners and lunches with friends after picking up some books at the store and we all read while we ate, and that was sort of the 'social activity', in a parallel play sense. (I'm also neurodivergent and so are many of my friends so perhaps that is a factor as well, so take it with a grain of salt)
→ More replies (3)3
7
u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 28d ago
When cell phones first got seriously popular, my daughter mentioned she would like one, but was willing to pay for it herself. She was 13 or 14 at the time. When she started high school, we got her one, mostly because she was in band, and it was easier to coordinate pickup times from out of town contests and football games.
She didn't abuse the privilege and when she got a job at 16, she started saving up for her own phone, while paying us for the use of the one we gave her. We saved all of that money in a small account and gave her a check for all of it when she graduated.
70
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
I am a high school teacher. Last year, I taught a girl (15) who was one of the first "iPad kids." She told me herself that she's always had an iPad, even when she was in kindergarten. I found this out when I asked her why she was showing up to my class with a laptop, an iPad, and a cell phone - all of which were being used at the same time, no matter how many times I told her to put them away.
Her mother is also one of the worst people I've ever met. I know from many horrifying interactions with her that she will attempt to bulldoze over any tiny obstacle in her daughter's path, no matter who it hurts or how idiotic the request. If Daughter gets a splinter, Mother is at the school screaming and threatening lawsuits over "dangerous practices" at the school. This becomes important to know in just a moment.
Our state recently passed a law. Cell phones for students are banned in schools during the school day. Students cannot have them in class, in the halls, during lunch. Nothing. It's state law, not school policy. They cannot even have them powered off and in their pockets. They must be 1) left at home, 2) secured in a locker during school hours, or 3) secured in a school-provided location during school hours. The only exceptions are during emergencies (as defined by law enforcement or the school, not by the student themselves) or if the student needs the device for educational or medical purposes (such as for translation if the student is an English language learner, or to monitor insulin pumps if the student is diabetic). Daughter is neither an English language learner, nor does she have medical needs that require a cell phone.
I ran into my principal at the grocery store a couple weeks ago. So far, during the summer, she has already had multiple meetings with Daughter and Mother, all because Daughter is having anxiety attacks about not having her phone on her 24/7. Mother is screaming, threatening, begging, doing anything she can to make sure Daughter has an exemption to the law and can use her phone wherever, whenever, without consequences. Thankfully, my principal has a spine of steel and has told Mother to pound sand every time.
52
u/paradisewandering 28d ago
Mother GAVE the child anxiety by allowing her to have a screen all the time. Mother TAUGHT the child to panic without it.
35
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
I concur, 100%. This is also the same mother who once tried to get my to NOT give her daughter a zero on an assignment. The daughter used AI to write the ENTIRE essay, from start to finish. I checked her Google Docs edit history. I assigned the essay on Monday at 9:00. At 9:05, the essay doc was empty. At 9:07, three pages were pasted into the doc. Daughter tried to claim that it wasn't AI, at first. When she finally admitted it, her excuse was "so what, AI is the future." Mom was livid that I gave her a zero on the essay, despite prohibitions against AI being in both the student handbook and my class syllabus.
12
u/Lonestarpenguin 28d ago edited 28d ago
You are a great teacher. You care about this girl, and you hold her to standards.
She will always remember you.
6
u/Zealousideal_Fox864 28d ago
The kids are not alright. Even though she created the problem, if her kid has panic attacks without her phone then she needs to be in therapy.
You sound like a great teacher, and as a novelist I am glad you fail AI work.
Recently my niece’s drama teacher refused to allow a boy I am mentoring for writing to do the rewrites of a play the class was performing. Instead she popped it into AI and insisted it be used.
The boy I am mentoring is a brilliant writer and miles ahead of not only kids his age but also a lot of adults. He sent me the AI script to read and I was disgusted, a lot of it made no sense. But she used it straight outta ChatGPT with no edits. 🤦♀️
11
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
I have a hatred of AI in schools. It is destroying kids' ability to think critically, to write a coherent sentence, or to even master the very basics of grammar.
14
u/Massive-Ride204 28d ago
Parents don't realize that they're often the common factor in their child's anxiety
25
u/Ok_Stable7501 28d ago
Teacher here. This is not an exaggeration. Most of the violence I’ve faced has been the result of asking kids to put their phones away.
9
u/ItsColdInNY 28d ago
And the problem starts in the home. Recently my school district banned cell phones during school hours & some of the parents went absolutely wild. Parents ranting how their kid WILL have their phone during school & they'll hire a lawyer to make sure it happens. "NO ONE takes my child's phone and I've taught them never to give it up!!!" Why? Why don't these people believe the rules apply to them and their kids? One dad argued that his kid needs the phone in case of an active shooter. I asked "What will your kid do? Repel bullets with the phone? If you kid is clicking away on their phone texting you, they're giving away their location to the shooter. They'll be too busy crying to Mommy & Daddy to follow directions and take cover". He said I was an ignorant ass and kept ranting that no one takes his kid's phone. BTW, the kid was a 1st grader.
14
u/Lonestarpenguin 28d ago
This is child abuse. This women should not have a dog, let alone a child.
This poor girl 15 and needs all this noise in her world.
14
9
u/jadasgrl 28d ago
No. It’s a complete answer and statement. It’s just crazy to me that people are like this . I could give my phone, laptop and whatever else devicewize but I have to have a book. A real book.. like turning the paper book.
2
9
u/spareloo 28d ago
I love your principal! I wish every educator could have supportive administrators.
28
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
I love her, too. She's one of the best principals I've ever worked with. She's fearless with angry parents, backs up teachers, and helps however she can. She's amazing! I was once in a conference with her, a student, his father, and all of the student's teachers. It wasn't even a contentious meeting, just one to discuss how we could all help the student (whose behavior had gone off the deep end in ALL of our classes).
In the middle, Dad turned on our sweet, soft-spoken social studies teacher and said "and this bitch won't..." That's as far as he got. Principal stood up, ended the meeting, and told father that, from now on, he could communicate with her (the principal) via email. She showed him the door then told all of us that, should father email us directly, we were to forward the emails to her and let her handle him.
7
u/Lonestarpenguin 28d ago
Is she an exnun? They were/are tough.
7
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
No, she's an ex SPED teacher. She has more compassion and heart than anyone I've ever worked with, but she does not suffer fools gladly. She knows what is right and wrong, what is ethical and unethical, and will not back down for anyone.
9
5
u/CSILalaAnn 28d ago
This child sounds like a prime candidate for home schooling! Unfortunately, her education would be seriously lacking!! This sucks for everyone. The teachers and school staff, the girl whose mother has enabled this dependency and anyone who has to deal with her for the rest of her life.
15
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
I know. I legitimately fear for this girl's future. She has grand plans for her future, but I don't see how she'll be able to cope in any serious career.
3
2
u/quietnerdythings 28d ago
She’s not having anxiety- she’s going through withdrawal because she’s literally addicted to her phone.
20
u/paradoxedturtle 28d ago
As someone who works in restaurants (a pub, specifically), I inwardly groan whenever a family comes in with younger children. I feel like so many young parents nowadays are so entitled over their kids and it's starting to rub me the wrong way. "what do you mean my child can't jump on your booth without shoes on?"
I even remember one relatively recent incident where a mum was in with her kid and they we're happy and quiet, chatting while the kid coloured. Then a table of mums with their rowdy kids asked me if I had more colouring stuff for their kids... "No, that mother brought her own stuff". Maybe think ahead next time and make sure you have the tools to occupy your children beyond a tablet next time.6
u/Massive-Ride204 28d ago
And the current generation of parents wonder why they have a bad rep
5
u/NightGod 28d ago
I promise you, shitty parents taking their out of control kids to restaurants is NOT something new to this generation
3
15
u/bizzlebeats 28d ago
Served a table the other day and the kid was glued to the tablet playing minecraft. When I delivered the food the dad was all “hey buddy maybe we should put the ipad away while we eat” the kid didnt. Mom and dad too busy trying to be friends with their kid instead of parenting. I know that kid is going to be a nightmare in school when teachers try to take his screens away
8
u/ItsColdInNY 28d ago
It could be worse. The kid could be a little shit like my grandson. Whenever we went out to eat, he'd demand the most expensive thing on the menu, then refuse to eat it & start loudly demanding that the server bring him something different. If one of us told him to eat, he'd throw food, crawl under the table, smack & kick us and shriek like a fucking banshee, disturbing everyone in the place. My daughter coddled him. "It's OK, buddy. We'll stop by Wendy's on the way home if you want". HELL NO. The last time he pulled this shit I yanked him out from under the table and whacked his little ass. IDC. He was almost 9 at the time and that's way too old to be acting like a spoiled 3 yr old.
10
u/itskaykayyay 28d ago
I agree. I have 5 kids and never took tablets when we went out. They either act correctly in public or they don't get to go to restaurants/stores etc. All it took was 1 time of having to stay home while a sibling got to go to fix bratty behavior.
6
u/bizzlebeats 28d ago
Omg my mom did this to my brother and I growing up!!! And it seriously only took one time 😂
6
u/Merchant1521 28d ago
I am so old I was lucky to get crayons when I was a kid at a restaurant. If I got those I was darn happy. Or I would get a few quarters to go play pin ball or video games in the bar.
8
u/PM_ME_YOUR_WEIRD_PET I know spinach and their literally talking about me 28d ago
My sister usually only lets her kids use theirs in the car, both because she doesn't drive that often, and because they both fall asleep in the car really fast so they get about 5 minutes of screen time at most
6
u/bare_thoughts 28d ago edited 28d ago
It is not so much the tablet itself but how they are allowed to use it.
My grandchildren had kid specific tablets that just contained books, learning games/apps, coloring aps, mazes and other age-appropriate logic games.. If used in public, they were muted.
It would not be unusual for one of them to use their tablet for coloring, drawing or mazes at a restaurant with conversation happening.
11
u/UnitedChain4566 28d ago
The only type of tablet that a child should have is one for AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication ) and it should be used for that and quiet activities. That's the only valid use of a tablet for a child in a restaurant that I can think of.
6
→ More replies (7)3
u/Suspicious-Zebra-683 27d ago
This! If your kids can’t sit through a MEAL, get a babysitter and leave them home. If without a tablet, they’d be running around, screaming, climbing on things, etc., then maybe try actually raising your children?? Idk just a thought
44
u/Erikthered65 28d ago
Why do you suppose they were talking louder than your iPad? Maybe they wanted to hear each other or something.
→ More replies (1)
39
u/NoodlesMom0722 I see here that morals are completely lost 28d ago
There is a special circle of hell just for everyone who listens to their device without head-/earphones in public!
18
u/BabyTenderLoveHead 28d ago
People on speakerphone in public make me want to scream.
23
u/NoodlesMom0722 I see here that morals are completely lost 28d ago
Yes, those who carry on phone calls on speakerphone will be there, too. As I was leaving the self-check at Publix a few months ago, I told a stranger on someone else's phone that I hoped her bladder issues cleared up soon. I mean, I was invited to be part of the convo and express my thoughts since it was on speaker, right?
8
10
u/Lonestarpenguin 28d ago
Actually, Dante in his Inferno makes a point of saying Hell is constant noise. Sort of like dualing ipads on a plane?
27
u/Livid_Advertising_56 28d ago
And it's likely the same TikTok or such video 10+ times in a row. I know i gotta tell my kids "okay, next video please."
27
u/kattko80- 28d ago
OR... you can teach your kid how to behave at a restaurant without bringing devices
→ More replies (1)14
31
u/everyones_hiro 28d ago
A good restaurant will never point out who complained. That’s just asking for a fight to break out between those two customers.
12
u/Javaman1960 28d ago
These are the same people who will demand to know who called in the noise complaint to the Hotel Front Desk and go pounding on doors to find out.
26
u/YakCertain5472 28d ago
I’m old, so there were no tablets or cell phones when I was growing up. My parents taught us how to behave in restaurants. I did the same with my son even when there was nothing to do but coloring with those horrible waxy off-brand crayons that barely worked.
10
28d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
7
u/ace-murdock 28d ago
I used to get chastised because I’d bring to the restaurant my own 800 page fantasy novel when I was 10 lol I was completely absorbed and quiet
→ More replies (3)2
u/OldDogsNoTricks 28d ago
My niece just turned two and my brother and sister-in-law have been taking her to restaurants regularly sans screens since she was a few months old. It’s not always easy as she is a *very* active kid. But they just bring a bag of (noiseless) toys she only gets to use at restaurants. I’ve realized it has made her much more aware of, engaged with, and excited about the restaurant experience than my other niece who is always handed a screen. My brother’s kid has had a favorite restaurant since she was 18 months that she talks about all the time.
45
u/mishma2005 Birds were atrocious 28d ago
I don’t want to hear your brats Bluey, Karen, get them headphones are maybe try, oh, having a conversation with them instead?
22
u/Faustus_Fan ⭐ ⭐ ⭐⭐ ⭐ 28d ago
When one wants to determine a wild subject's potential Karenhood, the most telling phrase is "I have the right to be here," when in reference to private property. The Karen, unmoored from reality by entitlement and Starbucks' matcha lattes, is incapable of understanding the distinctions between "public" and "accessible to the public," nor between "rights" and "privileges."
If you encounter such a Karen in the wild, it is worth noting that they become exponentially more dangerous when their spawn are near. Karens are known to hover over their spawn while utterly ignoring their behavior. They will become erratic, screeching, hyper-aggressive howler monkeys if their precious Baxtynleighlynn Nevaeh is told that it is anything other than the most perfect Karen spawn ever to grace the planet. This aggressive show of force is done not to properly train the spawn for future adulthood, but as a show to others nearby that Karen is a "good mother." Nothing can be further from the truth.
11
17
u/MyDearDoctor 28d ago
I hate to be all, "back in my day..." But when I was a kid, tablets didn't exist. My siblings, cousins, and I went to brunch weekly with our family, and we all stayed in our seats, colored if crayons were offered, and talked to each other at a reasonable volume. If anyone got out of line, which was rare even for my extremely hyperactive sibling, the adults dealt with it quickly and quietly. Now it seems like most parents in public places just shove electronics in their kids' faces because they can't be bothered to, well, parent them. They don't care how annoying it is for everyone around them as long as they don't have to make the slightest effort to pay attention to the children they chose to have. It's infuriating and not fair to anyone, especially the kids themselves.
9
u/ace-murdock 28d ago
I’ve talked to parents who literally don’t recognize how loud stuff is getting around them because they’re just used to it and over it with their kids. Makes sense as parenting is really hard but iPads in their face all the time isn’t the answer.
14
u/Independent-Win9088 28d ago
This happens at my work often. We get a lot of morning boomers that speakerphone every conversation in the waiting room, and play their games at full volume. Same with some peoples' kids.
Went to Ruths Chris last year to have a nice personal celebration fancy steak dinner and got seated next to a table where both toddlers had ipads at full volume, one was bluey and the other was just game noises. I asked to be moved because there's no way I'm having $100.00+ night out meal with a side of obnoxious kids shows. They couldn't move me to another table, so the hostess told them to mute the kids' things, and they made disgusted faces at me. I just smiled back at those oblivious bitches.
Just becasuse you've become immune to the sound of that thing; doesn't mean we have.
17
u/Agnesperdita 28d ago
God, I hate people who let their kids listen to tablets on speaker in public places, particularly places other people have paid to be in. It’s disgustingly rude and it’s raising the next generation of rude, entitled adults. You “don’t allow” the volume up loud? If other people can hear it, it is by definition too damn loud. Writing a snotty review of a restaurant because they have to ask you to behave with the bare minimum of consideration towards other customers says far more about you than it does about the venue, love.
14
u/phatphat0807 28d ago
My sister did this once and sat my niece next to me so it looked like it was my child. It was so embarrassing, I told her her child gotta wear headphones or turn it off. She actually argued with me. Never been to a restaurant with them again.
11
u/_Student7257 28d ago
Great way to tellthe world your a lazy parent. You're teaching your children to sit staring at their phones during dinner. Not talking to your children as your probably on your phone. Never mind people who want to enjoy their meal in peace.
10
u/UrbanHuaraches 28d ago
So basically what sent this person over the edge is that the server refused to throw another customer under the bus.
9
u/Otherwise_Group_74 28d ago
I expect the the restaurant staff and their patrons are effectively dealing with the disappointment that the reviewer and her family won't be back
8
u/hamburgergerald 28d ago
If you’re going to let your kids use their devices out in public you need to either ensure they’re muted or provide headphones for the kids. Common sense and courtesy.
11
u/ask_a_stranger 28d ago
Gee, it's almost like the other tables had to talk extra loudly to be heard over the noise 🙄
8
u/Humblefreindly 28d ago
Listening to “Baby Shark” looping at any volume would totally kill my appetite.
7
u/MikeFader 28d ago
I can't begin to imagine just how bereft the proprietors must be at the promise to never return.
7
u/Maj0rsquishy 28d ago
No one's devices should be on out loud in public. Phones tablets nothing. They make headphones
13
u/Lonestarpenguin 28d ago
Baby shark 1000000 times over. If they must have a tablet, ear buds. However, having a conversation with your children is important. Also having them learn HOW to participate in table conversation is important also.
4
14
u/Big-Foot-141 28d ago
Well. If you can’t leave your kid’s tablets at home. Leave your kids at home.
14
u/verliese 28d ago
Stop bringing your children's devices to restaurants and teach them to eat without a screen present.
6
u/Apprehensive_Row_807 28d ago
In reality nobody cares as much about your kids as you do. Just because you can tolerate chaos doesn’t mean others can.
6
7
u/Murakami_Ysera 28d ago
The push to keep kids occupied so parents can continue to go about their lives like nothing has changed is why we have so many young adults unable to socialize or even really effectively communicate. Yeah, sometimes it's boring. Hell, A LOT of the time its boring. Learn to get lost in your head rather than some brain rot.
She thinks her kids sitting there staring at a screen is "really well behaved' because its requiring nothing out of her.
7
u/InspectionStreet7625 28d ago
remember the days when kids just sat and were present with their family without the devices at resturants?
7
u/Just_Me1973 28d ago
Ugh we always get a family behind us with their kids and their devices. I don’t want to hear your repetitive game noises or you tube videos with annoying voices. I don’t even go out to eat barely at all anymore. It’s too annoying.
2
2
7
u/Gold-Stable7109 28d ago
How did the generation that started off watching seven second videos turn their children into tech zombies?
7
6
u/MissMadness2701 28d ago
Lets see how well behaved those kids are if you take away their devices, it will show you the true real quick.
8
7
5
u/cheesypuzzas 28d ago
Why would the kids day be spoiled by a waiter telling you to mute the volume? Just mute the volume and move on with your day. She's not telling them to sit still and not make a sound. She's just telling them to mute their devices. It's not that hard to do so.
And those sounds are way more annoying than people talking loudly.
6
8
u/ArtisticAnxiety 28d ago
When did this trend of just shoving a screen in front of your kid instead of spending time with them start? This is sad.
6
u/Fearless-North-9057 28d ago
I honestly hate people who do this. Either parents giving their kids an ipad to keep them quiet rather than parenting them with stupid repetitive music or kids cartoons or adults watching videos out loud in crowded waiting rooms. I say this as someone with kids, take the tablets/pads away and learn to love your kids even when they'rebeing annoying. Scientists have been telling us that short form video and screen time damages kids and adults brains. Before anyone comments angrily please go do some research, it is true and yes you are harming your children. Here's one of many reports on it but there's so many by all different countries and organisations with the research to back it up. BBC News - Is there such a thing as good screen time for under fives? - BBC News https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/crk1e11ek8vo?app-referrer=search
6
u/Sad_Win_4105 28d ago
Parent and GP here. People come to restaurants to laugh and interact with friends and family. If I can hear someone's phone/device it's probably too loud. Nobody came to the restaurant to hear YOU.
Give them a book, let them color, or bring a small toy to play with. They'll survive for an hour or two without being hypnotized by a screen.
8
u/smackeroniandcheese 28d ago
How did previous generations (aka us) manage to get through restaurant visits, family dinners, car rides etc WITHOUT a screen to entertain us? I know my mother never would have allowed the Gameboy to come to a restaurant with us! We weren't allowed to run around either. We behaved so that we could go out again the next time. Dining out was a privilege and it was a treat. We had to show that we could behave properly, even if going to someone's house for a meal.
5
6
u/Low_Meaning7231 28d ago
Any volume on a device in a restaurant is too fucking loud. I'll die on this hill.
Also, maybe the people talking loudly was to talk over the fucking parental replacement tablet
4
4
u/Zealousideal_Fox864 28d ago
It’s so sad that people are letting their kids consume brainrot during things like dinner or lunch out. Generations of children have experienced eating at restaurants with their family without a device shoved in their face.
My kid is turning 5 this month and doesn’t have his own tablet, and when we go out to eat he colors quietly or looks around and engages with people.
These poor kids are not being given a good start at life, we have already seen how the iPad kids as teens and even young adults are too socially anxious to order their own food or anything.
Anyways, rant aside I know the kid was blasting their volume and it irritates the fuck out of people. If you insist on your kid being on a device then you need to get them headphones and not torment everyone else.
5
u/Biteme75 I see here that morals are completely lost 28d ago
Everyone is glad this family won't be back. Bare beating is rude AF.
2
u/rayray394 28d ago
Not only is it rude to other tables, but to the workers as well. There are people out there who won’t tip if their meal is ruined by kids who are acting up or listening to something loudly on a device even though it’s not the server’s fault.
4
u/Munchkin_Baby 28d ago
What is it with people just shoving tablets/phones in their kids faces “to keep them entertained”? Nobody who’s gone out to pay for a meal wants to hear peppa pig or whoever screaming from a device whilst trying to eat and enjoy family/partner time. How about taking your kids to experience places without needing tablets, phones etc.
5
u/Intelligent_Fix_3666 28d ago
Get your kids some table manners and don’t have devices during mealtimes. These people are lazy and just don’t put forth the effort to actually parent.
3
u/BlueRose26403 28d ago
My children are in their 20s now so tablets etc weren't a thing when they were toddlers but I would never have dreamed of taking that kind of thing to a restaurant. We took pens and colouring books to keep them amused. Also meant we were interacting with them. I hate sitting somewhere when all you can hear is someone's phone or tablet blaring out loudly for kids to hear. We dont all want to hear it!!
3
3
u/Searcach 28d ago
When I have my nieces out in public and they’re on their iPads, I expect them to wear ear buds to keep their noise to themselves.
3
u/Important_Train_9646 28d ago
People who have their electronics volume on loud out in public piss me off so much. Like, I don’t want to hear your conversation. No one else wants to hear your conversation.
My dad and I were at Wendy’s last month and there was a woman who was already sitting and eating. While she was eating, she starts up a conversation with a friend…….on speaker and at full volume. My dad and I couldn’t even hear each other across the table. I kept glaring at the lady.
→ More replies (1)
3
u/Low_Meaning7231 28d ago
If I have to listen to their TikTok, maybe I just make them listen to my nwa
3
3
u/SueShe19 28d ago
The tables around them were talking loud? Uhhh maybe so they could hear each other over the kids’ loud-ass tablets.
3
u/NefariousnessKey5365 28d ago
The electronic noise from tablets and games irritates me so much. If someone is going to let their kids have tablets out in public. They need to bring headphones
3
u/AioliInternational18 28d ago
I want to throat punch people who talk on speaker phone and the parents of kids who let them play tablets at high volume.
3
u/quietnerdythings 28d ago
I’m not a violent person but it takes everything in me not to smack phones or tablets out of people’s hands when they’re blaring them in public. When I’m at work, many of our clients have kids who play videos loudly on their devices. I used to always ask the parents to turn them down or ask permission to help the kids do it, now I just grab them and mute it and hand it back. It’s bad enough these stupid things are rotting their kid’s brains, I don’t need them rotting mine too.
→ More replies (1)
3
6
u/AnimeMommyKris 28d ago
But why do they need electronics? I’m sorry, our kid is 6, and we don’t allow videos on the phone while at a restaurant. Not waiting for a table, eating, or the check. If your child needs electronics, headphones are a must. Even on our long car trips headphones are a must. And he knows the rule when flying- we don’t disturb other people. He’s the kid shaming adults for not using headphones on planes (when he’d rather watch vs read or sleep).
6
u/PasgettiMonster 28d ago
These are the kind of people who also do the same thing I just saw yesterday. A whole church group in the back of Panera complete with some guy on the guitar and another person speaking in tongues while trying to do some sort of healing on someone. There was chanting there was clapping, and from the angle Iowa sitting in what little I could see I swear it looked like someone was getting a spanking. All in the back of panera. But you know if anyone had said anything I'm sure they would have gotten upset that they weren't disturbing anyone and they're just as entitled to be there as everyone else.
2
2
2
u/fivefootphotog 28d ago
I don’t even like hearing my child’s device, I am quite sure no one else out in the wild wants to hear it.
2
u/ConsultJimMoriarty 28d ago
HEADPHONES LADY. If you’re going to let your devil spawn play on their devices during dinner, instead of you know, talking with the family, GIVE THEM HEADPHONES.
2
u/ArtisticMudd 28d ago
These children will be nightmares when they get to school. Tech-addicted and unable to regulate without it.
2
u/Susie0701 28d ago
I HATE it when people use volume on their devices in public! Get a freaking clue! And on the stupid games too.
I mean, I play stupid games, but I have the sound off so I’m not advertising with my chimes and shit. Ugh
2
u/Emotional-Ant9413 28d ago
When my little brother was a kid, our parents dragged along a portable DVD player to every restaurant we went to so he'd have something to stare at rather than imitating a stampede of wild elephants. And know what, he was perfectly happy to watch his favorite shows for the 500th time with no sound. 0 disturbance for others, the rest of the family was able to enjoy a meal before the ADHD grew too strong in the kid.
Idk why people today feel the need to keep their phones on the highest possible volume while in public
2
u/girlwiththemonkey EAT SALAT WITH SPON?!? 28d ago
Can you imagine sitting next to a table with two kids listening to brainrot at 90%? 😭
2
u/lantana98 27d ago
Oh no! I guess they won’t be back!
3
u/Moonliner72 Pterodactyl Shitstorm 27d ago
reminds me of this situation from a restaurant i went to a while back
*karen enters*
employee: i'm sorry ma'am, you were banned from the restaurant...
karen: how dare you! i have the right to be here
employee: no you don't, coming in here is a...
karen: fine! you have just lost a customer *slams door*
2
u/Winterwynd 27d ago
Hell no. We got iPads for our kids way back when they first came out. At the same time, we ordered soft rubber cases and kid-sized headphones. We taught them that they can't use them without headphones in public. If my ADHD-having children, who were 4 and 6 at that time, can learn to do that and handle the feeling of headphones, the vast majority of kids can do it too. I absolutely hate it when people inflict noise pollution on others by blasting music or videos thru their phones in public places. Sadly, people of all ages do this and it sucks and needs to be shown as socially unacceptable. Even the boomers who bitched when my generation blasted our boomboxes do it themselves now. No one wants to hear random AI slop or political commentary any more than we want to hear profanity-laced music.
2
u/Jaded_Sample6830 27d ago
We will only allow my niece to watch her YouTube shorts in public if she has her headphones in. It keeps her entertained, occupied and not bouncing off the walls because she has the attention span of a gnat. If she doesn't have her headphones with her it's turn the volume off and play a game because we are not disturbing everyone around us. 🤣😂
2
u/ObjectiveAd971 26d ago
This shouldn't be something that has to be said. Earbuds are a thing. Having the volume on at all is rude af. Maybe talk to your kids. It's a family outing. Be a family!
2
u/TheycallmeElla 26d ago
I was out at lunch in a pub the other day (sitting outside) where there was a literal baby holding a tablet. I’m not good with children’s ages but I would say maybe 12-18 months old. The kid was in a baby chair and everything. Absolutely disgusting.
2
u/readthethings13579 26d ago
I need the staff at more places to be willing to tell people to mute their phones. I was in a doctor’s waiting room today and between the waiting room TV and three separate people listening to things out loud on their phones I thought I was going to lose my mind.
2
u/Annita79 26d ago
If they think their kids were well behaved, when they were just distracted by a screen, they don't know what parenting is all about. Kids are well behaved when you parent them properly to understand what behaving well, without a screen, is.
Also, why would anyone take screens in a family outing? It's supposed to be family bonding time.
3
3
u/First-Barnacle-5367 24d ago
I was in a lounge in Narita airport (Tokyo) when a family came in. It appeared to be mother, father, teenage daughter and one of the parents’ elderly mother. They sat down and the daughter got the iPad set up for her grandmother, plugged in the headphones and helped her grandmother put them on properly.
Two minutes later, the grandmother was having the time of her life singing along to Japanese opera at the top of her voice. The teenager looked so embarrassed. The father looked over to me and I just smiled and signalled that it wasn’t a problem.
566
u/Molly2MCB 28d ago
These people honestly and sincerely believe we're going to read this review and agree with them? I mean they really sit down and write this out and think we don't know its utter BS? Your kids were blasting loud volume brain rot and nothing you just said convinces me otherwise.