What Padma Lakshmi Watches (and Reads) With Her Daughter

"If you're going to be on a tablet, why don't you just order takeout? What's the point of going to a restaurant? Likening screens to pacifiers, Lakshmi also calls the uptick in kids on tablets in public spaces a uniquely American trend. I don't think anybody in Europe is taking tablets to restaurants."

"When Krishna was younger, we read all kinds of books together, from Shel Silverstein to Dr. Seuss to The Snowy Day to Corduroy to Amelia Bedelia. But then she grew, and now she just reads whatever her school requires of her, I guess. She's going to an art school, so there's a lot of focus on reading plays and things like that other than just literature and history."

"There have been times when we, in tandem, read things like Klara and the Sun, by Kazuo Ishiguro, but nowadays, in general, she doesn't like to be bothered about her reading or her homework. She just wants to tell me, I got it, Mom."

Padma Lakshmi maintains a strict no-screens policy during restaurant meals with her 16-year-old daughter Krishna, rejecting the common practice of allowing tablets or devices to keep children entertained. She compares screens to pacifiers and criticizes the trend as uniquely American, noting that European families don't typically bring tablets to restaurants. Lakshmi's approach has proven successful, with Krishna now capable of dining out screen-free. Beyond dining, Lakshmi and Krishna share cultural experiences including theater, audiobooks, and music. They previously read books together ranging from children's classics to contemporary literature like Kazuo Ishiguro's work, though Krishna now prefers managing her own reading independently.

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