Phones at the Dinner Table

Thursday, April 30th radio program.

Hi Dr. Laura - Recently, you talked about a promotion a chain restaurant was offering—free ice cream if families put their phones in a “coop” for the duration of dinner. It’s a sad day when a restaurant chain has to encourage families to talk to each other.

This reminded me of what my father did every night at the dinner table. We didn’t have phones back then, so that wasn’t an issue. However, my parents made absolutely certain that we all gathered for dinner each night. We talked about our day at school, interacted with each other, and appreciated the food on our plates.

Once dinner was over, my father insisted that his three daughters remain at the table. He would quiz us on geography—particularly the capital cities of each U.S. state and countries around the world. My dad came to the U.S. from Italy with only a third-grade education. He worked seven days a week as a tailor, yet he was extremely well-read and could hold an intelligent conversation with the smartest people in any room.

This evening ritual of “What’s the capital of ______?” became something we loved. My sisters and I would excitedly raise our hands and say, “I know, I know!” “The capital of Finland is Helsinki!”

This went on for years while we were in grade school. To this day, I still know the capitals of countries all over the world—including Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay! Imagine if more parents did something like this today.

It remains a wonderful memory and truly helped us in geography class and beyond.

I thought you might enjoy this!

Thanks,

Rita

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