'You're the problem': Parents outraged after blogger shames mum over iPad use in restaurant
A woman’s attempt to shame a mother for letting her children watch iPads at a local restaurant has backfired spectacularly.
Donné Restom was so frustrated when her Friday night family dinner at a pub in Sydney's inner west was “ruined” she took to parenting website Kidspot to vent.
Labelled “to the mum at the pub whose daughters were watching their iPads”, Ms Restom accused the mother of turning her children “into zombies” by planting them in front of their devices.
The journalist said her own children became too distracted by what was happening on the screens and after trying to drag them away it was “tantrums and fights all round”.
“In the short term those screens may quieten our children, they’ll sit still and behave and eat dinner without a fight,” Ms Restom wrote.
“But they’re not present or engaged AT ALL. You’re turning them into zombies because it’s an easy way out. STOP!”
Since the post went up on Tuesday, the Sydney mother has received some choice words from readers, saying she should spend more time focusing on her own parenting.
“I think you hit the nail on the head when you said maybe you should control your kids better,” one woman wrote.
“If you had to leave a restaurant or bistro because YOUR KIDS were so unruly they wouldn't leave other kids alone, that is not the other mums problem (sic),” another added.
“I get it, screen time is a contentious issue. But they are not your monkeys and not your circus and every parent can make choices as they see fit.
“That was infuriating to read. You are the problem in this story.”
“My kids love to watch YouTube when we go out for dinner, it keeps them quiet and my husband and I sane. Your kids not listening to you is your problem, not mine,” one mother wrote.
Newsbreak - July 6
