‘ELBOWS!’ The one-word command guaranteed to have hands whipped under the table at lightning speed.

Along with ‘Sit up straight!’ and ‘Have you washed your hands?’, ‘Elbows off the table’ is the mantra that accompanied meal times of many a childhood.

‘Thank you for a nice tea. Please may I leave the table?’ was the chant my siblings and I trotted out daily - usually rushed, robotic and devoid of sincerity, but we didn’t leave the table without saying it. If we did, we’d be called back to recite it. We weren’t allowed to sing at the table either. I never really knew why.

Looking back, that does seem a bit ‘Amish’, but it did instil in us a sense of polite behaviour at meal times, and that stuck.

Are parents still sticklers for table manners though, the way ours were? If mobile phones had been around when I was growing up there is no way my mother would have allowed them at the meal table. Yet it is now commonplace to see families sitting at tables in restaurants and pubs, all scrolling through their phones and ignoring each other.

A Kent restaurant has caused a stir by introducing a ‘phone jail’ to encourage diners to engage with each other, rather than being slaves to their devices. The restaurant owner became “saddened” at the sight of people scrolling through their phones at tables, ignoring their families, friends and food. Speaking on the radio this week, the restaurateur said he’d had enough of seeing people look uncomfortable while their dining companion was on the phone, sometimes for 30 minutes.

So he decided to offer a 20per cent discount to diners who put their phones in a padlocked box - and it’s been a success. Diners are taking time to talk to their kids/partners etc and enjoy their food, without the distraction of phones at the table.

I know people who always have their phone on the table when we eat out. They’re either picking it up every two minutes to scroll through messages or, if it rings, they instantly break off, mid-conversation, to answer it.

Chances are, it’s not an emergency if your phone rings. You can get through a meal without using it. Whoever is calling, or texting or whatever, can wait. The world won’t stop turning just because you haven’t answered your phone for an hour or so. And if it it’s not urgent, why the urgency to use it? My ex always lined up his phone on the dinner table, next to his keys and glasses, saying he needed to check the football notifications. Charming. I think I know how he’d have reacted if I’d insisted on checking my Coronation Street spoiler alerts every 30 seconds.

I just think it’s bad manners to put your phone on the table. It feels disrespectful when the person you’re sitting with breaks off to answer their phone, or scrolls through it while half-listening to what you’re saying.

Sadly, such rude behaviour is becoming acceptable. Table etiquette is old hat, it seems. A recent survey by Censuswide found that most of Gen Z regard table manners as outdated and irrelevant.

According to the study, more than 60 per cent of young people aged 12 to 27 don’t see anything wrong with having their phones on the table at meal times or, presumably, their elbows.

Apparently it’s also now okay to start eating before all the food on your table has arrived, instead of waiting for everyone to be served.

Is it also okay to chew loudly with your mouth open and pick at food from other people’s plates? How about leaning over to the next table and helping yourself to a handful of their chunky chips?

Without good table manners, we might as well not even bother with cutlery. Simply scoffing your food, while scrolling on your phone and showing no courtesy to anyone you’re with, looks oafish and greedy.

Sit up straight and show some respect! Elbows!