Mum Sparks Debate After Criticising Another Mum Who Let Her Kids Use iPads At A Pub

A mother who criticised another mother for allowing her daughters to bring their iPads at the pub has sparked a debate online.

Donné Restom took to social media to rant about another mother as she claimed that her own three-year-old son and his friend were distracted by the iPads as well.

Ms Restom wrote for Kidspot that she had taken her son and his friend from daycare to the pub for dinner on a Friday night when two girls arrived who had ‘giant iPads propped up in front of them’ watching YouTube.

And when Ms Restom’s son and his friend noticed, they were ‘entranced’.

“My son and his mate are entranced, they walk over and lurk by the one girl’s shoulder, watching. It’s rude and I’m embarrassed. I hop up and explain that this girl is having her dinner and maybe she doesn’t want a pair of lurkers watching tele over her shoulder.

“I hustle them away.

“A minute later they’re back there and the mum is looking around as if to say, “who does these children belong to and will you get them away from our table?”

“I hop up again and drag them away, but they resist more.

“They’re no longer interested in playing anymore and they’ve stopped caring about dinner. All they care about is those bloody screens shining in the middle of the beer garden,” she wrote.

Ms Restom said that the night ended in ‘tantrums and fights’ because the boys ‘refused to be dragged away’.

“My initial reaction was to judge – and judge harshly – the woman that brought those screens into the pub. Why did she have to sit slap bang in the middle of the beer garden with them? I know it was busy, but there were tonnes of tables inside… we had to go home so the family on their iPads in the middle of the pub could watch in peace,” she said.

However, Ms Restom did question whether it was ‘all her fault’ and whether she should ‘be able to control” her kid “better”, she said the screen was an “unlimited distractor unit”.

Ms Restom concluded:

“Dear mum at the pub whose daughters were watching their iPads, please consider your fellow diners and eat somewhere where your down time does not have to detract from mine.”

However, when the article was shared on the Kidspot Facebook page, a number of parents slammed Ms Restom for her ‘judgemental’ stance on the issue.

“My son is autistic and we take his iPod with him to places like this so he can zone out and calm his mind,” a woman wrote. “How dare another parent judge someone like this when it is her and her kids that are distracting the other family that could be like mine.”

Another wrote: “I think YOU are the one who needs to control your children, not the lady with the girls sitting down. You think it’s ok for your kids to run around a pub but have a problem with others children sitting quietly eating. Perhaps you need to focus on controlling your kids tantrums, as THEIR addiction to the screen is not others problems.”

Although some parents said that both mothers are to be blamed.

A woman said: “Where is the world heading if we all rely on technology to help our kids to get through a meal. Both parents are at fault here, to author – learn to control your children and SUPERVISE them when wandering the restaurant. To the mother with the kids on the iPad how about spending quality time with your family whilst out. If you just want your kids to be quiet go home and put them to bed not in front of an iPad.”

Yet, others defended Ms Restom, supporting her move.

A woman wrote: “How awesome is going to the pub with kids and I remember when I was a kid how fun it was because you got to play, make up games with other kids and watch mum and dad looking relaxed and having a good time. Where the hell does an iPad fit into all this awesome pub dining??? It simply does not.”

Sources: Dailymail.co.uk, News.com.au and Kidspot.com.au