Finding Time for a Family Dinner

Traditionally, families would eat dinner together every night. It was a time to come together and talk and enjoy a meal together. These days, though, especially with kids involved in activities and parents working, it’s not always practical to all sit down together as some nights that would mean a very late dinner.

However, it’s healthier from both a nutrition perspective and a family relationship perspective to find the time, even if only occasionally, to have a nice family dinner together.  Studies have shown that children who do eat dinner with their families often are less prone to unhealthy addictions, eat healthier overall, perform better academically, and report having closer relationships with their parents. Who doesn’t want that?

So, on one recent evening, after everyone got home from their activities, I announced we were going to have a family dinner. The kids all looked at each other like “what is that??” But, we were having a rare evening where we were all there and even though we ended up eating at 7:15 p.m. we got to eat together.

We made burgers and had fruit and ate outside on the patio (and I’m pretty sure that all of the forks made it back into the house!)  Family dinners don’t need to be elaborate, it’s less about what you eat and more that you are having the opportunity to spend time with your family while eating.  And family dinners are usually healthier than grabbing something ‘on-the-go’ in terms of nutrition. Plus, dinner conversation can slow the pace of the meal, giving you time to really enjoy the food, conversation and the company.

After dinner, we spent some more time together around the table watching ‘Hamilton’ clips on YouTube until my phone died. This is probably not the Norman Rockwell portrait of a family dinner, but it works for our family and you can find what works for your family, as well.  The goal isn’t for a family dinner to be picture perfect. The goal is to just make it happen.