Restaurant bans mobiles at dinner tables

FRANKIE & Benny’s has become the first family restaurant in Britain to ban the use of mobile phones.

The food chain made the move in a bid to get people off their devices and talking to each other.

Customers going to the popular chain in December will be asked to hand in their phones before they eat.

They will be stored in a “NO PHONE ZONE” box, with kids eating free for customers willing to put family first.

The move comes after the Italian-American eatery found nearly half of children want the phone taken away while they are having dinner.

They also found Brits would NEARLY three-quarters of children wish their parents would spend less time on their phones.

New research from Frankie & Benny’s found 72% of kids think their mums and dads are on their devices too much.

The restaurant chain also discovered 56% of British children want to have more conversations with their parents.

They found parents knew it was an issue, with 77% saying they felt guilty about being on the phone too much.

check their phones with no reason, with 47% saying it was just a habit they couldn’t get out of.

Frankie & Benny’s, which has 250 restaurants, said it may make the ban permanent if it proves a success.

Parenting expert Susan Atkins said: “I am delighted to

see Frankie & Benny’s are leading the way by banning screens at the table.

“We live in a busy, fast-paced 24/7 digitally-connected world, unless we consciously plan not to be.

“So I love the idea of families sitting together, eating and chatting together away from screens. Parents are role models in everything that they do and in everything that they say.

“So by managing their own screen time parents are teaching their kids by example about when and where technology use is appropriate.”

A spokesman for Frankie & Benny’s said: “We looked at various ways we could encourage people to engage more at the dinner table, and we’ve found giving families the chance to part with their devices for a mere couple of hours is a great way to bring them closer and embrace family time.”

A Kent pub banned phones earlier this year.

The Just Reproach introduced a £1 fine if a phone rings or beeps and raised £20,000 for charity.