No phones, no scrolling: These restaurants are asking parents to put their devices away — Here’s what diners get instead

The pilot programme seeks to offer families an alternative: putting their devices aside, playing games and using mealtimes to talk to one another.

A group of restaurants in Sardinia, Italy, is asking families to put away their smartphones and other electronic devices during meals as part of an initiative to encourage conversation and reduce excessive screen use among children.

The initiative, called A tavola senza schermi or “At the table without screens”, is being spearheaded by Anna Cau, the children’s ombudsman for the Italian island. According to The Guardian, 15 restaurants have volunteered to participate in a one-month pilot programme beginning next week. The organisers intend to expand the initiative on a voluntary basis.

Under the scheme, parents and their children will be required to hand over their devices while dining at participating restaurants. In return, they will receive a “reunion kit” designed to encourage families to interact without relying on screens.

What will diners get instead of their phones?

After families hand in their devices, restaurant staff will provide them with a reunion kit containing games and drawings. Designed by the Italian federation of paediatricians, the kit aims to help children and their parents start conversations and reconnect during meals.

The activities are intended to encourage children to share stories about their day and interact with family members rather than turn to their screens for entertainment.

The kit also includes a brochure explaining the risks associated with excessive digital exposure, alongside tips for managing social media use at home.

“The restaurants will offer an alternative activity in the form of a game which is intended to foster interaction,” Cau said, according to The Guardian. She added that the games would have time limits suited to the duration of a restaurant lunch or dinner.

Why are restaurants asking families to put away their phones?

The initiative aims to address concerns about excessive screen use among children and encourage more face-to-face interaction, particularly during family meals.

Cau, a former juvenile magistrate, said the campaign was not intended to rely exclusively on bans or place the entire responsibility on parents. Instead, she said, the wider environment should help families encourage healthier habits.

“The idea is not to rely solely on prohibitions or to place the burden of responsibility entirely on parents, but to ensure our broader environment supports parents in their role and helps minors integrate with others,” Cau said, as quoted by the news outlet.

Emanuele Frongia, the association’s president on the island, said restaurants could play an important role in helping families reconnect when they eat out. However, he noted that conversations during meals were increasingly being replaced by silence as diners focused on their devices.

“Yet we increasingly observe that during these moments lively chatter is replaced with stretches of silence as people look at their devices,” Frongia said, according to The Guardian. “Often a child is handed one to keep them quiet.”