Port Washington School Wants Phones Banned At Dinner Table

PORT WASHINGTON, NY — In an age where adults and children are "always on" and glued to a screen of some sort throughout the day, Port Washington elementary-schoolers are creating so-called "Family Charging Stations" with a simple goal in mind: disconnect to connect.

A year-long initiative at John J. Daly Elementary School, families are encouraged to put away technology for a brief moment and simply talk. Face-to-face. The effort kicked off with assemblies and a workshop to teach parents — often the worst offenders — the radical concept.

The Family Charging Stations come with a user manual but parents should get the hang of them quickly. They're boxes. Students bring them home to their families and electronic devices — specifically, phones — go into the boxes. Phones remain jailed for a period of time while families "recharge" through good old-fashioned conversation, ideally during dinner.

While some iPads and laptops may not fit in the boxes, those, too, are banned during the recharge period.