Digital Habits
“Why can't I have my phone at dinner?”
What to say
Start here
"The dinner table is meant for family time, for us to catch up and for us to connect, and that can't happen if there are devices in the way distracting everyone. So cell phones, or any kind of device, aren't allowed at the dinner table."
It goes for me too
"That goes for me too. My phone goes on the kitchen counter at dinner, just like yours, and if I pick it up anyway, you get to call me out on it."
When they just want to check one thing
"I know you just want to check it really quick. Whatever's on your phone will still be there after dinner, and you can look at it as soon as we're done eating."
Why this matters
Dinner is one of the few times in the day when everyone's at the same table, and a phone on the table pulls attention away from each other, because a text or a notification always seems to come in right in the middle of it. In our house it's a rule for everybody, me included, and the phones go on the kitchen counter so nobody's reaching for one halfway through dinner.
The Sunday Script
Get one script like this every Sunday
The words for one hard conversation, in your inbox every Sunday, and a short note once a month. You can stop anytime.
That email doesn’t look right.