“Sharing a family meal is good for the spirit, the brain and the health of all family members.” (Dr. Anne K. Fishel)
Do you sit at your dining room table and eat with your family? How many times a week do you sit down together for a meal?
Over the past three decades, family time at the dinner table and family conversation in general has declined by more than 30%. Yikes!
While I’m at school waiting to pick up my kids I hear (yes, I’m eavesdropping, lol) a lot of moms talking about their busy schedules. When I listen to them It seems as though that they don’t even have time to breathe. They talk about how all the kids are in different activities at different times of the day. They don’t have time for dinner so they go through the drive-thru and they all eat in the car on their way to dropping off their children at different locations.
Does this sound familiar? So does having dinner together sound like an unattainable reality due to your schedule?
I grew up eating dinner with my family every night. I never thought about it since it was the norm in my household. When I was in high school I remember sitting at the lunch table and my friends and I started talking about dinner. I told them I ate dinner with my parents and sister every night and what I heard back has stuck with me 25 years later! They said almost in unison “you are so lucky!” I asked them what they did for dinner. This is what they said… “I just grab whatever I want and eat in my room,” “my mom never cooks,” and “we fill up our plates and sit where ever we want, we don’t really talk.”
Wow! I felt so sad for my friends.
Let’s talk about…
Why is the table so important?
It is where…
- you build relationships with one another.
- you talk about your day
- problems are solved
- memories are made
- traditions are created
- your family is nourished with good, healthy food
- God designed the table. He gave Moses instructions on how to build it and he then told Moses to make the plates, dishes, bowls, and pitchers (Exodus 25:8-9). God had a plan for the table so if he drummed up the idea of it then it’s pretty darn important and he has big things going on at it that we can’t ignore.
“Some of the most improtant conversations I’ve ever had occurred at my family’s dinner table.” ~ Bob Ehrlich
Now, Let’s talk Statistics
- In a recent Columbia University study, 71% of teenagers said they consider talking, catching-up, and spending time with family as the best part of family dinners.
- For younger children, family meals provide a sense of security and a feeling of belonging in the family.
- Teens who eat dinner with their family five to seven times a week are twice as likely to get mostly A’s and B’s in school, compared to teens who have fewer than three family dinners per week, as reported by CASA.
- Research examining 5,000 teenagers has shown that when children eat with their parents on a regular basis they are more likely to be emotionally strong and have better mental health.
- Kids are more likely to be adjusted, have good manners and good communication skills.
- Moms who ate with their families often were also found to be happier and less stressed as compared to those who did not.
- Regular family dinners also help to… lower the rates of substance abuse, lower teen pregnancy and depression, and they have higher grade-point averages and self-esteem.
- Dinner conversation is a great way to improve vocabulary.
Ideas for having more meals together
- If you can’t do dinner then breakfast, lunch, or snack time will work.
- Have a meal plan. Read about my meal planning.
- Put it on your calendar. If you can’t have dinner together every night then mark your calendars for the nights it will work.
- Look at your family’s activities and see if there are too many things going on and remove them. Being busy isn’t the best thing for you.
- Make double batches of dinner and put it in the freezer. All you have to do then is defrost it and bake it. No preparation for that day needed.
- Have a day that you prepare meals for the week or more and put in the freezer.
- Plan ahead!
- Cook easy meals. I make a protein and veggies every night and sometimes add rice or potatoes. All my meals are done in 20-40 minutes. That’s not that long when you are talking about the health and happiness of your family.
- Get the family involved in preperation, cooking, and cleanup. See my cooking with kids post. A lot of conversation also happens during this time as well as a lot of learning.
If it’s a priority you will make it happen!
I hope this post has gotten you thinking about the importance of the family table. I would love to hear your opinion on this topic. Leave me a comment.
Resources:
https://www.goodnet.org/articles/9-scientifically-proven-reasons-to-eat-dinner-as-family
https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/resources/faq/
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