Genelia with her family.
“What we do at the dining table is no cell phones,” Genelia said during the interview. She called it “a good one” and explained that the rule had made her and her family think about their own habits. “That’s something that our kids have also made us realise,” she said. “Even when we go to bed, our phones are kept outside our room versus inside,” she said, describing it as something new that the family was trying to follow. “This is something that’s new, but we keep evolving with little things,” she said.
Actor Genelia Deshmukh frequently shares her tips on parenting and her style of raising children. Once she shared how her family tries to keep mobile phones away during meals and even outside the bedroom at night. In an old interview with Film Companion, Genelia spoke about the no-phone rule at the dining table, explaining that the idea did not come only from the parents. Their children also helped them recognise the importance of following the rules they set for them. “I mean, we are so strict with them, like, you know, when you’re eating your food, it has to be about your food. The actor also spoke about another change in the family’s routine: keeping phones outside the bedroom at night instead of inside it. For Genelia, these rules are part of an ongoing process rather than a fixed set of instructions.
A useful takeaway from Genelia’s experience is that screen-time rules work best when they apply to adults, too. If parents ask children to put their phones away during meals but continue checking their own screens at the table, the rule can feel one-sided. A no-phone rule is easier for children to accept when they help decide how it will work. Instead of simply announcing that phones are banned at the dining table, parents can ask their children what would make family mealtimes feel less distracted. The family can then agree on a simple rule: everyone leaves their phone at a designated spot before sitting down, including the adults.