Sardinia: family dinners out, without phones

From 1 November, 15 restaurants in Sardinia are trying “A tavola senza schermi” (“At the table without screens”) for a month. Parents and children can choose to put their phones in a basket and get a set of games in return.

The idea comes from Sardinia’s children’s ombudsman Anna Cau, a former juvenile court judge, with the hospitality association Fipe Confcommercio Sardegna as partner. Each family gets a “Kit del Ritrovo” of games for different ages to pass the time while waiting for food, plus a leaflet on children and gadgets prepared with the Italian Federation of Paediatricians.

It is a voluntary “disconnection pact”: nobody is forced. If the pilot works, the project will be offered to all the association’s restaurants. An idea that would be easy to copy here on the Costa Blanca: a long Spanish dinner is the best time to talk to each other rather than to a screen.