Eat together!

[Darla Shine]

Another study is out speaking about the importance of eating together as a family. This is not new to me. About two years ago a study came out where USA today polled tweens and teens and asked them what their favorite part of their vacation was and each of them said, 'spending time with my family, and eating together as a family.' So these strong willed, smart mouthed tweens really do want to be with mommy and daddy. So the old fashioned traditions really do impress a child and deep inside they yearn for your attention.

In our fast past rat race of a country everyone is on the go or trying to get by. We are over stressed as a nation. We could learn something from the Europeans who take long lunches, long vacations, and have big family meals together. In the long run all that matters is the closeness you can build within your family and friends. The best way to talk to your children and learn about them is to share your family meal together at the end of the day. Ask your children about their day. Tell them about yours. Share stories in the news. Talk about politics and religion. Your values and morals will mold your children. Teach them what you believe. Let them know you are there for them no matter what. And eating together means you get to watch what they eat and make sure they are eating nutritious homemade meals.

Remember the family who eats, plays and prays together stays together.

[sahmto2boys]

i ate dinner with my family until i moved out at 21. I try to eat with my kids...hubby doesnt...cause he is always working...well tonight is wed and he is normally home for dinner...so...i do hope that he will be home early enough, before basketball practice,

[miya's mom]

My dd and I eat together every night and we love to just sit and talk. My Dh comes gets off work at 8 pm and then comes home and eats. my dd waits for him all evening and when he gets home to eat we sit around the table together while he eats and she has a little bedtime snack.

[sahmto2boys]

wish that would work in my house...hubby gets home at 11pm each night :( :)

[tal]

we eat together every night, sometimes dh misses the dinners because of work. but mostly we enjoy eating and talking about the girls days together

[helen]

We too eat meals together. On the weekends we eat all of our meals together. During the week for dinners though its usually me and the kids only. Hubbie has client meetings into the evening so i just eat with them and then he eats when he gets home.

[miya's mom]

wish that would work in my house...hubby gets home at 11pm each night :( :)

When my hubby worked the 1 - 11 pm shift we would eat "dinner at lunch time and then have "lunch" at dinner time however, my dd isn't in school so we were able to still have a meal together as a family.

[keltie]

Thanks for the reminder about the teens, Darla! It's just what I needed to hear.

[Caliwife]

So true! I remember eating with my parents and siblings everynight and I made sure that that when my daughter was at home we had a meal on the table every night or were out eating together. It was usually the only time all three of us were able to sit down and talk.

[MumofMany]

I love eating with my kids and listening to the silly conversations we have together... As a child I don't really remember ever eating with my parents, it tended to be that the kids ate first and then parents would eat later when my Dad got home. I'm not particularly close to either of my parents, although I doubt it's got anything to do with eating/not eating together...

I don't want my kids to not be close to me though, and so I take every opportunity I can to sit with them and mealtimes are the perfect time!

[kittykat]

My dd and I eat together every night. My dh works nights and doesn't always get to eat with us but on the nights he is off we eat as a family.

Christine

[lauramt]

Eating together is HUGE in my family. We always eat together.

When Jay is gone, we use our laptop to have daddy join us for dinner. I set mine up at the end of the table and he has his with him where ever he is at. He logs on to an instant message program that we both have on our computer and daddy joins us for dinner. Even if he's not eating where he's at (could be on the other side of the world) he will sit and talk with us.

My daughter who is almost 10 recently had a class discuss about how many kids eat at the table with their family or if they eat in front of the tv by themselves. Out of 22 kids, only 8 sat with their families every night. The others at by themselves. Sad....

Also, only 6 had SAHM....... really sad.

[mamaof4]

We don't eat at the table together often at all. With hubby's schedule he is off for 3 nights but works late the 4 days he does work. I was trying to have us eat on sundays. It worked until everything else fell apart. I do need to try again...