Family meals: a topic that strikes fear into the hearts of many overwhelmed parents and angsty teenagers alike. While often a challenging ordeal to organize, intentional family mealtimes are incredibly beneficial to every member of a family. Far too many individuals use mealtimes as opportunities to catch up on work, watch TV shows, or call a friend. They see mealtimes as obstacles in their day that they have to get through instead of seeing them as a break from the busy, when you get to slow down and rest. This is what mealtimes should be, to individuals and families. When families turn their mealtimes into movie marathons, or quickly throw their dinners into boxes to take on the go, they are missing out on the most important part of family mealtime: the family!
Breakfasts, lunches, and especially dinners should be a time when a family is all sitting around one table, unplugged and unbothered by work or media, and intentionally focused on each other. When families actively choose to spend their mealtimes with each other instead of independently, they will reap the benefits of connection and bonding that can only come through being intentional and present with one’s family.
Strengthening Family Bonds
Regular family meals provide a dedicated time for connection amidst busy parent and child schedules. This shared time fosters communication, trust, and a sense of belonging within the family. Studies indicate that families who eat together often experience stronger emotional bonds and improved family functioning. These interactions create a supportive family environment in which members can share experiences from their day, discuss challenges as a family, and celebrate one another’s successes. Family mealtimes help to reinforce familial ties, one dinner at a time.
Improving Communication Skills
Not only do family mealtimes help family members to grow closer to one another, they can drastically improve children’s communication skills. Engaging in discussions during family meals encourages active listening, empathy, and the ability to express thoughts clearly. These are all wonderful skills for children to learn, and what better place to learn than at the dinner table! Research has even shown that babies may benefit more from mealtime conversations than being read to! Parents hold the keys to teaching their children how to communicate, and whether they know it or not, communication during mealtimes is a large contributor to how their children will learn to communicate with others.
Developing Healthier Habits
Consistent and intentional family meals often lead to healthier dietary choices for the whole family. When parents know that their children will be eating whatever they eat, they tend to serve more fruits and vegetables and fewer sugary drinks. This collective approach to eating promotes balanced nutrition for everyone and can positively influence children’s relationship with food in the long-run.
But eating together as a family not only promotes healthier habits surrounding food. Frequent and intentional mealtimes also offer families the opportunity to develop other healthy habits like discussing their work and school days, participating in small family rituals, and planning future events so that the whole family is connected and stays on the same page.
In the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of plates are set at the table, what’s on the menu, or what the topic of conversation is, but when families sit down together and enjoy a meal as a group, they are better because of it. Without thinking, parents help their children socially, emotionally, and even academically when they sit down and talk to their kids at the dinner table. And children help their parents, too. Most parents want to be involved in their kids’ lives, and one of the easiest ways to do so is to come together during a meal and just listen to their kids talk. Children will share more with their parents when they can tell they want to hear. And there is no better place to listen than at the family table!
