Blog.EmealsForYou

Cell Phones and Table Manners – A Not So Futuristic Rant

January 21, 2010 at 9:31 am Leave a comment

I didn’t think I would become a curmudgeon but here I am complaining again about manners, or more importantly about lack of manners.  Don’t you think it is about time to put those cell phones on hold, at least during family dinners?  ‘Course then again who has family dinners anymore.  Don’t get me started on that!

Growing up we had no cell phones at the table, we had no tv on during dinner.  All we had was good food and a chance to talk to each other.  As my kids were growing up we had two, make that three, rules at dinnertime.  The first was when I put the food on the table you’d better be in your seat. Shirts were required and there were no hats, with the exception of stupid birthday hats, allowed.  It didn’t take long for my kids’ friends to catch on.  They were always welcomed at the table as long as they followed the rules.  Many good conversations took place at that table and I think both the adults and the kids learned from them.

Back to the phones at the table thing. I spend time and energy creating good meals.  I find it very annoying to have people constantly checking their phones while attempting to have a meal.  Are they that important that their texted comments, if not immediately sent, would set in motion the end of the world? Perhaps their friends would not be able to LOL, and we all need to LOL on occasion, if not for their texted insight into how the world works.   One frightening aspect about this new phenomenon is that the adults now feel free to join in on the texting at the table.  Maybe we should spend more time teaching how to use a knife and fork properly and less time LOL’ing; but them again I am just a grumpy old man.

Entry filed under: Rants, Semi-Rants and Non-Rants. Tags: lol, manners, table manners, texting.