What families are asked to do
Participating guests agree to keep phones and tablets tucked away in bags or pockets, or leave them in a basket. Families with children receive a kit containing games and colored pencils, giving younger diners something to do without a screen.
The arrangement applies to adults as well as children. According to CagliariToday, the five-rule "Patto a Tavola" asks families to put phones away, use mealtime to talk about their day, and offer younger children games and hands-on activities while waiting for food. Those activities are put aside when eating begins. The remaining rules allow exceptions agreed in advance and require genuinely urgent calls to be taken away from the table. Calls should also be out of other diners' earshot, dpa reported.
A pilot across the island
The project was developed by Sardinia's hospitality association and Anna Cau, the region's children's and adolescents' ombudsperson. It seeks to draw children and teenagers away from screens in restaurants so they can play, draw and talk.
CagliariToday reported that the pilot was initially planned for eight restaurants before expanding to the first 15 establishments that joined. They are spread across Cagliari, Quartu Sant'Elena, Capoterra, Nuoro, Bari Sardo, Ussassai, Oristano, Alghero, Olbia and Santa Teresa Gallura, covering larger cities and smaller municipalities on an island also popular with tourists.
Cau presented the project on the morning of October 26, 2026, in the "Gianni Massa" hall of the Sardinian Regional Council in Cagliari, alongside FIPE Confcommercio Sardegna and the Italian Federation of Pediatricians (FIMP), according to CagliariToday.
Guidance for parents
FIMP contributed information to the initiative and produced a practical guide, "Bambini e adolescenti in un mondo digitale". Families can access it through a QR code on the informational leaflet, CagliariToday reported.
Data cited in the guide indicate that 95% of Italian adolescents regularly use a smartphone, more than half leave it switched on 24 hours a day, and about one in four shows signs of problematic use. The guide also reports that 87% of parents of preadolescents want more information about managing their children's relationship with digital devices.
Cau said the digital world needs effective rules to protect minors from device misuse and unsuitable content, and that parents need to understand both the risks and opportunities of technology. Emanuele Frongia, head of the hospitality association, said putting phones aside could also help adults converse, describing restaurants as places to meet, talk and spend time together.
At the end of the monthlong trial, FIPE will assess whether to extend the initiative to its entire membership, according to CagliariToday.
