In this modern age, the march of technology means that families are less likely to speak to each other face-to-face. This isn't just an idle statistic - studies by British broadcast regulator Ofcom show that the average UK household has up to three television sets, with teenagers more likely to spend at least three hours each evening watching the box in their own bedroom. On top of that, with 96% of households having multiple mobile phones, families don't even need to speak to each other, with many admitting that most of their conversations taking place over text message. In fact, studies have shown that young family members find they are more at ease watching TV on their own, while discussing programmes with their social media contacts. Family campaigners say that many homes are now lacking a focal point, especially when meals are taken on laps in front of the television, and rarely with all family members present. With busy lives, and behaviour which leads to fragmenting families, it is an increasingly rare occasion that a family will sit together and eat an evening meal together. Quite often, this focal point is missing. If a house has a dining room, it is often used for another purpose (for example, a games room or a second TV viewing area) and its intended use as a communal eating area is lost. Other households may have a dining room table, but it is so cluttered with household junk that it is rarely used for meals. In order to fix family ties, households should at least attempt to eat together at the same time as often as possible. A traditional family roast dinner on a Sunday may be the ideal start, with all televisions, phones and mobile devices all switched off and the family all around a dining room table. It's an ideal time to catch up with each other, air concerns and grievances and discuss plans for the week ahead. Also, it's vital to prove to your nearest and dearest that you're still alive, and not existing merely as an electronic avatar on Facebook whose only contribution to the family is to like a relative's latest status update. That being the case, it would be the ideal time for the whole family to congregate around the warmth of a computer screen and discuss the purchase of a suitable dining room table and set of chairs, of which many are available in our furniture warehouses. There's also sideboards and dressers if the family really wants to complete the house's new focal point, creating an area where they can continue to exist as a family.