Screens at Meal Times: Discuss

How do you feel about screens at meal times? 

When I was a kid we had a rule that we didn’t watch TV at meal times. As we got a bit older, that rule expanded to include no phones. The only exception to this (that I can remember) is big football matches being on in the background with the volume turned down. Meal times were considered sort of sacred; we’d usually have dinner in the dining room rather than the kitchen table. 

Now, when I go to my parents’, they’re watching The Chase at 300 decibels while they eat in the kitchen, half checking their phones.

The other day I overheard a couple of parents talking about their approach to screen time at meals specifically. One had commented to the other how they let their kids watch TV with dinner ‘as a treat’ a couple of times a week. Their reasoning was that if they didn’t, the kids would probably eat all their meals in front of the TV when they got older and left home. In other words they anticipated that – much like with sweets – the more they were restricted, the harder it would backfire when they got more independence and autonomy. 

But this raises an interesting question, would a more relaxed approach to screen time result in kids that are a lot less bothered about it, as it does with sweets?