Why Eating Together Will Strengthen Your Family
Unfortunately, Americans rarely eat together anymore. The average American eats one out of five meals in the car, one out of four eats at least one fast food meal every day, and most families report eating only one meal together less than five days a week. Our culture of constant going and busyness and pursuing the American Dream (aka money and stuff that we think will make us happy) is keeping us from reclaiming relationships and creating unhealthy patterns.
In fact, families who eat together at least five times a week show many signs of health. Consistently eating together is good for the spirit, lowers the rate of substance abuse, teen pregnancy and depression. Studies also show that children have higher grade point averages, self-esteem, boosted vocabulary and the stories told increase resilience. Eating together also lowers the rate of obesity and eating disorders. What else could a family do in an hour a day to make this big of difference?
What changes do you need to begin making so your family can eat together more regularly?
1) Make It a Priority
I can hear you saying, “We’re just too busy!” This is definitely the biggest obstacle to eating together. However, we make many things in our lives a priority: school, sports, homework, work, more sports, hobbies, extracurricular activities, cleaning, etc. But now that we know the huge impact eating together can make, we ought to place this higher on our list. As parents we need to Keep The End In Mind. It’s not just about what we want our children to do when they grow up, but WHO we want them to become. When we eat together we are making an investment in WHO they are becoming.
2) Plan Ahead
Of course eating together takes preparation. If your schedule is out of control, then put the meal times on the calendar. You could also make double batches of food, freeze some, and reheat it for dinner. Eating together is worth preparing for.
3) Turn off the TV
Eating in front of the TV as a family is NOT the same as eating together as a family. When you eat together, turn off the screen. This goes for phones and tablets too. You could place a basket or bowl somewhere away from the table and have everyone place their devices in it. If someone grabs their device during the mealtime, they get to do the dishes or whatever else you decide. However, you better set the example.
4) Have Some Conversation Starters
You may be asking, “So, how do we get the conversation going at mealtime?” Something we like to do is talk about the highlight and lowlight of the day. We also use the Gabbit app. This provides lots of great and engaging questions. Also, stay tuned because in the next week or so I’ll be releasing a free conversation starter resource.
It’s time to start the Table Age Revolution! Gather your family, eat a meal and get your game on! If you would like to stay connected, sign up for our awesome newsletter so you won’t miss out on when the new free resources are available.
