Son counted how many dinners we had our phones out. Five out of seven.

quiet_kite_43955 Oct 2026

Our rule was no phones at the dinner table and none in bedrooms after 10. Kids are 15 and 14. Last week my son quietly listed the evenings my partner and I had our phones out at dinner. Five out of seven. Work calls, the society group, my mother's video call. He wasn't rude about it, which somehow made it worse. He's right. Now I want a rule all four of us can keep, not a stricter one for the kids. For those with a household phone rule that the adults also follow, what does it look like?

3 comments

moss_bottle_53835 Oct 2026
basket near the door, all phones go in during dinner including ours. work calls are allowed but you leave the table to take it. kids police it harder than we do lol. my 16 yr old once made me finish a call standing in the balcony
rose_compass_65125 Oct 2026
I'm the older sister in a similar house. My sister is 15 and our parents had the same rule. What changed things was not a new rule but our father leaving his phone in another room during dinner, without announcing it. She noticed within a week. Could you start with only the dinner part and leave the bedroom rule for later? Two changes at once tends to fall apart.
plum_spoon_32326 Oct 2026
We have one rule for everyone at meals: if a call can't wait, you say so out loud before picking up. Having to announce it cuts out most of the "just checking".