Dinner is nit a screen time, let the phone be put away

Phones have quietly taken over our various homes. What started as a tool for communication has now become something many people, especially children can hardly function without, you will see a child of 2 years dragging phone with their parents, cocomelon has become the order of the day. I think this is why many families are beginning to ask an important question: should phones be banned at certain times in the house, like during dinner or family movie time?

To be honest, the idea isn't as extreme as it may sound. Family moments are meant for connections. For example, dinner time used to be when people talked about how their day went, laughed, cracked jokes, argued a little, and bonded. Now many families don't even eat together or ask how each other's day went; even the families that still eat together can be seated at the same table but live in their different worlds because everyone's eyes are glued to a screen. When everybody's eyes are glued on the screen, it dominates these moments; something valuable is lost.

I remember when they bought a phone for me and my cousin so we could be able to communicate with my parents whenever they are away. But the phone becomes our idol; we don't sleep anymore at night, and midnight calls become the order of the day. My mother was the first to notice that we don't sleep well at night, because every time they wake us up for morning devotions, that's how we will be sleeping. My mom decided to monitor us without our knowledge; that's how we were caught. Our phones were seized, and my dad had to buy a landline instead until we finished secondary school. There was no phone again.

So taking a phone from a child who refuses to eat might seem harsh to some people at first, but it's necessary. My friend's child can't not eat unless her mom puts Coco Melon and Drop It in front of her. Occasionally she even forgets herself because she is watching it, and the food ends up cold. Children need to learn that table manners are important and dinner time is a family time, and distraction is not allowed.

Setting a phone boundary at home is not about control or punishment; it's about guidance. While children grow, there are basic things we need to teach them because they are still learning how to balance pleasure and responsibility, and as adults, we are made to help them with that. Just like in my house, there is always a set time for children to go to bed. You dare not disobey, and we follow the timetable for food equally. So deciding when a phone should or shouldn't be used is actually a part of caregiving. Taking a phone during meals is not wickedness, but it's being responsible.

When trying to ban phone use during meal time, it has to be done with explanation and consistency. They need to understand why the phone is being taken away from them. Moreover, adults should lead by example, because if an adult is scrolling his or her phone while a child is restricted, the rules will feel unfair to the child. When phones are put away by all, it becomes a family practice, not a punishment.

Images are Ai generated.

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