Melbourne pub swaps playground for iPads

Everyone knows how frustrating it can be when you head out for dinner, only to have a nice meal ruined by a child running amok – especially when it's not your child.

One Melbourne pub used to have the solution for restless kids in the form of a playground at the venue, keeping children entertained while their parents and other diners ate.

But during recent renovations, The Sandringham Hotel decided to demolish the playground and replace it with an iPad station, dividing the opinions of parents and diners alike.

"Only disappointment was the kid's playground being replaced by 10 tablets/iPads on a long table - like come on guys this is the opposite what we should be teaching our kids," one diner wrote in a review of the pub.

Another said: “I am all about a renovation but unfortunately not a fan of this one, the kids play area (such a draw card for young families) has been railroaded in favour of an iPad corner for the kids."

“Actually a horrifying idea if you think about it.”

The pub had previously received complaints about the noise coming from the playground, manager Erson Carbajosa told the Herald Sun.

As such, they decided the iPads would provide quieter entertainment for their youngest diners, but plenty of parents are concerned this is a reflection of the growing dependence on technology to entertain our kids.

Parents are increasingly turning to teachers for advice on how much screen time their children should be getting, while health experts warn spending too much time with technology can be negatively impacting children's minds.

With growing concerns about raising tech-savvy children, having open access to iPads without adult supervision has left some parents concerned about the pub's decision.

However, not all the reviews were critical, with plenty of diners saying they love the pub's new look and think the iPad corner is a clever way of updating their kids’ area.