On the Beach!

Lyndiloo
They came out 3 yrs ago. My grandson had one but got bored quiet quickly.

Too many children today are ignored by their parents because their phones appear more important. They are failing the children and I believe it is a form of neglect.

Annodomini Oh no!

I worked for many years in nursery schools. Mums picking up their children whilst taking a call on their phones became a real problem. So much so that the school banned the use of mobile phones during drop off/pick up times.
Not nice seeing young children being ignored, when all they wanted was to tell mummy what they'd been doing at school.

When I was in my 30s and walking with my friend back from playgroup with a 3 yr old and baby in buggy an elderly lady stopped us and said 'I love to see you young mums looking so happy with your children. Savour it, it doesn't last long!'. We were a bit startled and thought of all the nappy washing and broken nights think8ng 'if only she knew'.
But actually I'm sure she did know and she was quite right! I look back to then with nostalgia now!

TLVgran I’ve done the same, hoping I don’t sound patronising, and had the same pleased response. I’ve also commented on families enjoying a meal out. These days there’s criticism aplenty of parents and much as I loved being a mum it was at times a thankless task. It’s all too easy to forget that now and remember it as all sunny days full of great fun! I’m sure there’s a place for tolerance and a bit of positive reinforcement of the good stuff many parents do every day.

Somebody should invent a 'phone-strap' which would wrap, and lock, around the hand, keeping mobiles in place all day - from the moment we get up until we go to bed. They'd make a bomb!
Your wait is over, Lyndiloo. 'Smart watches' give you most of the functions of a mobile phone. Hundreds to choose from on that famous mail order site!

On two occasions, I've actually done the unthinkable and said to mums who were actually talking with their little ones in prams what a lovely sight they were. Though I felt a bit like Lady Bountiful handing out marks, they both glowed with pleasure

I use my mob.for news & weather so on a train or in a cafe it takes the ace of an unwieldy newspaper.I also use my mob. as a communication system to talk to friends and family who I may otherwise not see. It is also a way to interact with the world via forum such as GN. It is not all bad. As a teen I spent hours on our house phone talking to friends but never wrote or communicated with grandparents. My DGD1 sent me a pic yesterday of her tidy wardrobe & her bag of stuff for the charity shop! It is good to keep in touch and easier nowadays! Good for smartphones!

Oh, I hate this 'interacting with your mobile' thing, that seems so common nowadays. Yes, I've seen mums at it - glued to their 'phones, and completely ignoring their children. I've seen people in restaurants at it - maybe just a couple both staring down at their 'phones throughout the entire meal. Once, a family of four doing it! Why are you out together? You might as well be 'home alone'!

I just don't get it! What are these people so interested in, that distracts them from the company of the real, live, people they are with?

It's a sad indictment of our society now.

I was at Euston Station recently, waiting for my train and people-watching - and I would swear that at least 80% of fellow travelers had either their 'phones to their ears, or their eyes to their 'phones. And the remainder had their 'phones gripped in their hands!

Somebody should invent a 'phone-strap' which would wrap, and lock, around the hand, keeping mobiles in place all day - from the moment we get up until we go to bed. They'd make a bomb!

What's happening to us? We're being taken over by technology ... To our social detriment, I'm sure.

Very sad.

DD and SIL are both guilty of this at times imo - we 'have words' about this subject more than any other. That and the constant posing for photos ? ( as opposed to 'living the moment').
I agree that no-one ever watched and talked to older children every second of the day but a lot of these phone addict mums and dads have babies and toddlers and these tots will surely never learn to speak properly if no-one speaks to them now? I talk to DGS almost continuously in his rear facing pushchair as I have done since he was born - now we have a buggy as well because he loves to go on buses and I noticed right away that there is no talking at all as we walk along on those trips - you can't talk to the back of a toddlers head, you have to stop and bend down in front of the buggy to say anything. Luckily he is already a chatterbox so he probably won't suffer trauma on these occasional outings ?

My worst experience of this was in a pizzeria when I was having lunch with the grandkids. A young couple came in and sat near us with their baby asleep in a buggy. Not a word, they sat down, each with their mob. Next time I looked, quite a while later, they were still at it - and now the baby of about a year was in a high chair with a tablet propped up in front of it on the table watching a fast moving cartoon. Will it ever learn to talk?

I hanker back to the 60s 70s when we didnt even have a house phone, never mind monil phone! I do agree mobiles can be a life saver in an emergency, however I think it takes over peoples lives. Even my 8 year old grand-daughter now has a mobile, and my 2 year old grandson is obsessed with my ipad. Intertestingly, my daughter and her family had a holiday in Centreparcs recently, where they had no wifi or mobile phone coverage for a whole week. She said the whole family loved being away from their ‘gadgets’ for a week.

I find it quite unsettling, and I do include myself in this, but it seems that almost everyone has some small amount of addiction to something or other these days.
Just my opinion, and I stand to be corrected, and no doubt will be!

I've given up on the mobile phone that husband bought for me. Can't manage it and can't see the point anyway.
But I've got no babies to look after now .

polly good post.
Yes, there have always been Mums ( and Dads) who have been inattentive ( or feckless and hopeless) but the phone addiction seems to be affecting all now, which is the difference.
Only use mine in the car, that’s where it lives and is the most basic kind.
You can’t uninvent the wheel, but I wonder if there are many accidents, as I do see ( constantly) buggies being pushed into the road when Mums are glued to their phones, it’s hair raising.

My dad often re-told the tale of a little lad on his street, whose mum shouted at him to "get here now", "no" the little lad replied, "you'll only clout me". I'm not defending parents who ignore their children, I do accept the addictive nature of technology. After all, here I am on gransnet. I'm just unconvinced that parents today are any worse than they ever were.

This behaviour worries me every day. I have to stop myself intervening but I'm sure that one day I will!

That is sad Misadventure. I see it too,in cafes etc where children are trying to get mum's attention. I know mums have always had other distractions but I do think this addiction to phones is becoming widespread and it is a shame for the children. I've even heard children saying 'Don't look at your phone Mummy!'

I sat on a long train journey, and it made me so sad to see the little boy opposite.
"Look mum! A cow! Mum! Look, its a cow!"
Silence from mum who was engrossed in her phone.
After about 10 mins of silence he said "well it was a cow.." to himself.
By the end of the journey he was just sitting in silence too.

Or what the children are missing ?

I totally agree. When my children were little We bought a face to face pushchair and I loved pushing them along chatting about the birds etc. Now I see most mums with outwards facing buggies, so they cant even see the children, either with headphones on listening to music or chatting or txting on their phones. My pet hate. They dont know what they are missing.

Isn't it about giving children what they need when they need it?

Babies need holding and eye contact, toddlers verbal and physical play, young children need freedom and responsibility etc., etc.

Anything that interferes with normal emotional growth has to be questioned.
Unlike books tv or other distractions the phone is available 24/7 and as others have said very addictive.

Finding reasons why the phone use equates to the past use of a mothers time, is missing the point.

Mums always need help either to relax or get through, and phones may help...…. but lets not forget children MAY be the ones who pay the price.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that in the past mothers hung on their child's every word and action, however, you didn't see them pushing a pram whilst reading a magazine, they may have been chatting to a friend but they were still looking out for the child. These days it is not unusual to see people walk into lamp-posts because they are too busy looking at their phones - I actually saw a young girl (not a Mum with a child) walk into the side of a bus which was stopped in traffic

When was this golden age, where mummies wanted no more than to be immersed in everything their children were doing?