Did your family have dinner together last night? If it’s been a while since all of you sat down at the same table at the same time, let me encourage you to make family meals a priority in your home.

Researchers at Columbia University have found that kids who eat dinner with their family five nights per week are more likely to be healthy, happy and succeed in school. They’re also less likely to use drugs and alcohol, be depressed, or get pregnant as teenagers. The researchers found that family meals serve a protective factor, helping kids avoid risky behaviors that could have life-long negative consequences.

It’s not that tacos or meatloaf have some kind of magical effect on the kids—it’s that family members who commit to eating dinner together most nights of the week are actually talking to each other. The moms and dads who make this a priority tend to be more involved in their kids’ lives, and the kids in these families are more likely to share their concerns and struggles with their parents.

Columbia has been doing research on family meals for a number of years, but in one of their recent studies they found something fascinating—and troubling.

As mobile technology has become more pervasive in our society, more and more Americans have been bringing their digital devices to the dinner table. So the researchers at Columbia decided to find out what kind of impact this might have. Guess what they found? If anyone, even one family member, uses mobile technology at the table, the protective factor discovered earlier disappears.

Brad Williams decided to do something about this—at least in his little corner of the world. Brad is the owner-operator of two Chick-fil-A restaurants in the Atlanta area. He is giving away FREE ICE CREAM to families who are willing to turn off their smartphones and put them away during meals. (I put FREE ICE CREAM in all caps, because it is something I have always been supportive of).

Brad invented the “Cell Phone Coop,” a small box shaped like a chicken coop that is large enough to hold several cell phones.  He put the “coops” on the table at the two Chick-fil-A locations he owns along with the rules for his “Family Challenge”:

1. Turn all family cell phones to silent and place in the cell phone coop.

2. Enjoy your meal and each other’s company distraction free

3. After the meal, let Chick-fil-A know that your family has successfully completed the challenge and each member will receive a small Icedream cone.

The idea has spread to Chick-fil-A locations across the country.  If your local Chick-fil-A store doesn’t have the Cell Phone Coops yet, it’s likely you will see them in the near future.

I’m taking my kids out to dinner at Chick-fil-A this weekend.  And yes, we will all be enjoying FREE ICE CREAM!