Many of us grew up in a time when the whole family sat down at the dinner table to eat at the end of every day. These days, however, the focus has shifted from eating together to at least eating.
Busy schedules, obsession with devices, and eating while working are only a few reasons why many families don’t sit together to eat their meals. Many people rely on the simplicity of the home cooked meals delivered Melbourne families rely on to keep families eating together.
Mealtime Should be Together Time
Depending on your specific family dynamic, your current eating arrangements may differ extensively from the ones you grew up with. These days, families eat in front of the T.V., children eat alone in their bedrooms and parents eat in front of their laptops while catching up on work, or at work.
While these scenarios may work just fine in your home, the question you should be asking yourself is, “When do we all connect?” This post takes a look at a few reasons why mealtimes are as important now as they were before we all got distracted by our schedules.
1. Mealtimes Encourage Conversation
With busy schedules and varying school hours, it may not always be practical to have a sit-down meal at breakfast. However, if this is the case, then you should strive to make dinner time your one-together meal of the day.
This is especially important for the children in your home as it allows them to share the events of their day. Encourage them to mention high and low points. Having a space to share their good and bad days will encourage openness and remind them that they’re part of the family unit. You’ll also be more in tune with what’s happening in your children’s lives.
2. Gives Everyone a Much-Needed Break From Their Screens
If there’s one thing we can all do with it’s more time away from our screens. By enforcing a sit-down meal with no devices, you’re encouraging everyone to step away from the digital world and take part in the real world.
Teach your children that while our devices are fun, it’s still important to be mindful. That is, to be in the moment. Another huge benefit to doing this is that you will be giving their eyes a much-needed break from all that unhealthy blue light.
3. Teaches Your Children to Be Involved in Mealtime
If you look back to your own childhood, one of the earliest chores you learnt was more than likely how to help your mom set the dinner table. Having a mealtime schedule enables you to give each child a responsibility to get the meal ready.
This can vary from helping with meal prep, setting the table, or even dishing up. If you find that meal prep takes too much time away from the dinner table, set up meal delivery. Part of your family time can involve choosing meals for the week.
In this instance, be sure to give everyone a turn to choose a meal from the menu. It will then be up to them to serve it up once it arrives. Encourage younger kids to get creative. The good news is that meal delivery menus cater for gluten-free, vegan and low-calorie options.
4. Enhances Your Children’s Manners
When your children eat in their bedrooms or slouched on the couch with a fork in one hand and a device in the other, it’s safe to assume their manners may be lacking. Since it takes about 21 days for a habit to form, it takes about one month of eating in their rooms to forget all the manners you taught them as toddlers.
Sitting at the table allows you to enforce table manners and dinner etiquette and also helps them learn to have more social skills. These are all skills that will come in handy as they grow up.
5. Helps You Keep Your Family Healthy
Home cooked meals or those served by meal delivery services are considerably healthier than fast food options. This is because fast food is often made up of high carbs and low calories. Choosing healthier food options also promotes portion control.
It’s also an excellent way to introduce younger children to different vegetable and fruit dishes. It’s a good idea to encourage your children to try something new with each meal or at least every week.
Final Thoughts
Family mealtimes are an essential way to connect with your family after a busy day. Once you get into the habit of at least one sit-down meal a day, you’ll soon find yourself feeling more relaxed and connected to those closest to you.
Always be on the lookout for ways to make this process possible. Opting for meal delivery or cooking together are both ways to get this process started. Family mealtime is an excellent way to keep everyone grounded and close off the day. Stay connected with your family by spending daily quality time with them!
Lynn Martelli is an editor at Readability. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University and has worked as an editor for over 10 years. Lynn has edited a wide variety of books, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs, and more. In her free time, Lynn enjoys reading, writing, and spending time with her family and friends.
