The dinner table has changed
Your Phone Can Wait helps families reclaim the small moments that matter — dinner, bedtime, car rides, walks, playtime and conversations. We are not anti-phone. Phones are useful, necessary and part of modern life. But some moments deserve our full attention.
In one study reported by Phys.org, 77.6% of parents and 68.7% of children used media during the most recent family meal in the surveyed households.
That finding comes from research published in JAMA Pediatrics, “Parent and Child Media Use During Family Meals,” as reported by Phys.org in “Screens dominate the dinner table” (June 2026). It is a snapshot of how common devices at the table have become — not a judgment about any one family.
If dinner feels different than it used to, you are not imagining it. And you are not alone in noticing it.
Families are not alone
Phones at family meals are now a parenting and wellness story, not a niche concern. CNN covered parents, children and devices at meals in June 2026, and the same question is being asked in other countries too.
In Sweden, public-health guidance has urged parents to restrict screen use around children, including phone-free zones at bedrooms and dining tables — with adults modeling the behavior. That is the same idea, in a different place: protect a few small moments, together.
This is not one family’s struggle. It is a shared moment in family life, and a shared chance to pause.
What experts suggest, calmly
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggests families create screen-free zones such as the dinner table, homework time, and before bed — and include adults in the plan. The AAP also notes there is no single magic hour limit; families should set screen-free times and places together.
Other guidance in the research bank says the same thing, in different words: focus on quality, context, family rules, and adult modeling. Start conversations early, model the behavior, and set clear, consistent rules.
We are not offering medical advice here, and we are not promising an outcome. We are sharing what the research and the guidance point to, calmly and with sources, so families can decide for themselves.
Adults model it too
Kids copy what we do. Children notice adult phone behavior — sometimes enough to set the rules themselves.
A phone-free moment works best when it is shared. When parents put their phones aside too, the pause is not a rule for children. It is a moment for the whole family.
That is why our invitation is for everyone at the table, not only for children. Parents participate too. Kids learn by watching adults.
Small moments count too
Connection matters more than perfect dinners. Car rides, bedtime, and small moments count too.
- Dinner — Dinner deserves presence.
- Bedtime — Bedtime stories, not bedtime scrolling.
- Car rides — rides, errands, and waiting rooms, together.
- Play — playtime, walks, and board games, with eyes up.
- Conversations — quiet conversations that deserve room too.
Because the people in front of you matter more than the screen in your hand.
What to try
One phone-free meal this week. That is enough to start.
Try one 10-minute phone wait today — at dinner, at bedtime, or in the car. Then notice what comes back.
The AAP’s “How to Make a Family Media Plan” is a useful starting point for a family plan of your own, including screen-free zones and adults in the plan. We are working on a downloadable Family Moment Plan based on that idea — it is not ready yet, and we will link it here when it is.
Kids do not need perfect parents. They need present moments.
Read the Manifesto
If this page is the why, the Manifesto is the invitation. Read our Manifesto: phone-free family moments — “Your phone can wait. This moment cannot.” — and the seven things we believe.
We are not anti-phone. We are pro-family moments.
Join the waitlist
Join the waitlist and help shape the first product.
The small moments are the ones they remember.