4 Steps to a Tech-Free Dinner Table

Some days, dinnertime can seem daunting, and technology hasn't made it any easier. Friends are pinging, chimes are dinging, alarms are ringing. It feels like it's impossible to escape digital dinner disturbers. And we're not just talking kids here—parents are among the worst offenders (guilty). Here are some tips to take back the table.

Tech is NOT invited to dinner

You know it. They should be learning it. Devices have no place at the table.

Studies show that dinner is one of the most fundamental of social encounters. For small children, dinnertime conversation boosts vocabulary even more than being read aloud to. The family mealtime is an important opportunity to not only develop table manners, but also cultivate the art of conversation. Like getting something (anything!) out of your kids when asking "How was school?"

Turn the dinging things off

Dinnertime conversation boosts vocabulary even more than being read to aloud.

Bells! Bells! Bells! It has gotten to the point where we're like Pavlov's dogs—conditioned to respond to every little ding. So turn your devices off or put them on silent while you sup to avoid the temptation to sneak a peek. Then go on Facebook and brag about what awesome family time you just had.

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Don't serve up a double standard

Sure, you've been waiting for that work email or text about a much-needed girls' night. But don't make your own digital addiction the exception to the rule when you dine. Did you know adults are checking their phones almost 100 times a day? We're used to hearing parents complain about tech-addicted kids, but kids can get just as frustrated with their tech-dependent parents.

Turn your devices off or put them on silent.

Have a cheat night

For every rule there is, of course, an exception. Every once in a while you want to eat fries and surf Pinterest. And sometimes kids just want to eat pizza and watch that movie they've seen a few hundred times. So break the rules now and then so that dinner doesn't become a downer.