The humble family dinner is the cornerstone of a household. Itโs the time to chat with your nearest and dearest and see how their busy lives are going among the hustle and bustle of the daily grind. Itโs an ancient, universal ritual of bonding over food. Itโs a sacred time. Thatโs why it is so frustrating to parents who want to stay involved in their childrenโs lives, only for their kids to spend the whole time texting.
โPass the Saltโ is a short, funny video by Mathew Abeler that shows a dad who has had enough of his kids ignoring him at the dinner table.
He decides to take matters into his own hands and takes it upon himself to put an end to this antisocial behaviour.
The video has touched a social nerve gathering over 18,500,000 views.


The description simply kicks the video off saying :
โDonโt text at the table kiddos!โ
The opening scene is silent as the family eat dinner. Nobody is speaking to each other, simply going about their meals.
The silence is broken by one of the sons at the table receiving a text.
Itโs a simple buzz of the phone, nothing too disrupting for the family, but all of a sudden the sonโs full attention is on his phone. Already the parents are weary of this distraction. They probably know their son is effectively โgoneโ from the table now as they exchange loaded glances.


The second sonโs phone goes off with a Carly Rae Jepsen ringtone.
Maybe he could get some pointers from his brother about cooler phone alert etiquette!
The look look on Dadโs face is the look a parent makes when heโs at the end of his tether! He looks back and forth between his two distracted sons, gobsmacked at how theyโre in a different world.


Mom also looks back and forth between the two boys, and gives Dad a knowing look.
This dad seems to want to test how distracted his sons really are.
โHey Jake, you mind passing the salt please?โ
The dad says to one of the boys.
Jakes slides over the salt cellar, except, itโs not the salt. Itโs pepper. He really is not paying attention.


Thatโs it, this dad has had enough. He looks to his wife who gives him sympathetic looks. Dad mimes a deadly throat-cut action before pointing to Jakeโs phone to indicate that he is ready to murder that device.
Enough is enough for this dad!


When this fed-up parent gets to his witโs end he gets creative and does something drastic that neither of the sons expectedโฆalthough the mother doesnโt seem so surprised!
โDad, what are you doing?โ
The dad and his not-so-discreet solution are indignantly defiant as he responds:
โSorry, I must have been a little (pause for effect, angry face worn)โฆ distractedโ
And finally:
โPassโฆthe saltโโฆ
โฆand the salt cellar slides toward the dad.


The dad proves his point!
Some parents who have watched this video loved the moral of the story. It seems that this phenomenon is one understood globally:
โThank you from Italy Matthew, itโs the same all over the worldโฆ โ
Watch the video below to see Dadโs big move!
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