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The Art of Family Dinners
Making Time to Connect With Your Children By Jenny Rackley
How can you make the most of family dinners with your children?
- Remember that eating together doesn't have to mean cooking. Some families eat out together or bring home ready-made meals from a restaurant or supermarket deli. Another option is having dinner brought to your door – most pizza places and some other restaurants will deliver.
Turn the TV off. Eating dinner together in front of the TV does little to foster family togetherness. Although certain TV shows are educational, when you watch them during dinner, you tend not to interact at all with your family members, and you diminish or lose the benefits that you gain by eating together. - Watch your manners. Children learn by observation, and if you eat correctly and act politely, children will be much more inclined to follow suit.
- Treat your children and other family members with respect. Listen to their problems and concerns, even if they seem trivial to you. Don't offer advice on how to "fix" a problem unless invited to. Children sometimes respond well to knowing what you did in a similar situation, but often just want to talk, knowing you'll listen without comment. They need a chance to problem-solve and work out their own solutions to their concerns.
- Make it a point to establish a regular time to eat together. This can be breakfast or dinner, preferably daily. If you can't do it daily, eat together at least once a week.
- Find times that you can eat together unhurriedly. Enjoy the time that you have set aside to be with your family.
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