Wait, so when you have kids you'll take away other peoples' stuff if you feel that they are using it inappropriately? That's the biggest problem with this fml. Of course, you can take things away from your own kids if you dont like how they are using them, but you cant take things away from other people.

" but you cant take things away from other people." Actually if they're in your house I think you can. I'm not saying I think this scenario is right (I do think the boyfriend's parents were rude for taking her phone off her - but she was rude too for using it at the table) but if someone is at your house it's fair enough to expect them to follow your rules. For some people that means no smoking, or taking your shoes off at the door. If you had a no smoking rule and someone tried to smoke in your living room, you'd take the cigarette off them or at least tell them to dispose of it. This is especially true for children.

Telling them to dispose of it is very different from simply taking it from them. You should never be so aggressive as to take whatever it is from a person; whether you agree with what they're doing or not, it is their property. OP was not in the right for taking her phone out to check a text, but the boyfriend's parents SHOULD have simply told her to put it away instead of taking it from her. It sounds like they didn't even announce their standards beforehand; she can't just assume what they'd like. I mean, I know it's pretty common to not have phones at the table, but a warning should come first IMO.

Granted, yes, if someone is in your house it is fair to expect them to follow your rules, but you never have the legal right to take something from someone or command someone who is not under your guardianship. I explained this in an earlier post, and for some reason got a bunch of thumbs down (idk why because it was the truth). If someone is on your property you have the legal right to remove them at any time. This is what "my house, my rules" means, as in "if you want to stay in my house, you have to follow my rules," however, you never have the right to force those rules on people in your house. Not that I'm trying to insult you or anything, but why would you ever think that someone has the right to take someone else's property just because they are in their house? That's theft. Also, it is not "especially true for children." Minors only have to obey people who have legal authority over them. It's not like just any adult can command any child to do whatever he/she wants, even in his/her own house. Of course, it is typically considdered "good manners" to obey adults, but some adults (like the ones in this FML) take this to an extreme, IMO. Also, take away something from a minor is also theft, typically theft of the minor's parent's property (minors are usually not allowed to "own" anything, unless they are emancipated. Espcially things like cell phones, which require contracts for service (minors cannot legally enter into contracts either)).

So, a simple explanation of the family rule is completely out of the question...? So much for etiquette. I often find the biggest enforcers of etiquette are typically that largest offenders.