Establishing regular family meals can be challenging, but it’s important to start small and set rules for all members. Family meals don’t have to be dinner and can take place outside the home. Engage children in transitional activities and make mealtimes special with music or decorations. Vary what you serve and keep family meals lively to create new habits and traditions.
Maybe you’ve read about the benefits of family meals and want to institute regular family meals in your homes. Yet conflicting schedules and unfamiliarity with family meals can make it difficult for a family to consistently have family meals. It can be a little difficult to start having family meals, but once you start, there are several ways to maintain a regular family meal schedule.
If schedules are a big deal, remember that family meals don’t have to mean dinner. Perhaps breakfast is an easier time for everyone to sit around the table together, or lunch works better on the weekends than dinner. Also, while it would be ideal for the family to have dinner together at every meal, this may not always be possible. After considering your plans, start small with a goal of 2-3 family meals a week, unless your schedule allows for more.
Family meals are easier to carry out when certain rules are established for all members. These rules should include: no phones, no TVs, and no lessons from parents. There are good times when kids can lecture or have a serious talk with their parents, but kids who feel the family meal is unlikely to cause a tongue-lashing. Instead, keep the conversation light and airy, in other words, conversational. If you can’t think of topics, consider giving everyone a chance to share the best and worst things that happened that day. Let the little ones take turns as they are often impatient.
While family meals can be a chance to showcase your cooking skills or to teach children cooking skills, not all family meals need to be prepared at home. A family meal can evolve around pizza and salad. You may actually have more family time if you don’t slave over a hot stove, especially if one person is responsible for preparing the meals.
Also, family meals don’t necessarily have to take place around a table. You can vary the scene by having a picnic in a nearby park, having an indoor picnic on the floor during the rainy season, or going to a restaurant. Family meals simply mean that all immediate family members are present without distraction.
When dining at home, engage children in transitional activities, such as table setting or decoration, that will get them away from distracting activities like phone calls, computer games, or TV. In fact it helps to set a timetable and stick to it. Since the nature of family meals is to casually dine together, don’t let a hectic schedule ruin an otherwise friendly meal.
Family meals can be more appealing to children when they make a special effort. You can set the “mood” for mealtimes by playing low-key music, decorating the table with flowers, or even having a candlelit dinner with the family. These things are appreciated by both young and old and can make coming to the table a special event.
If you fall off schedule and slip back into old habits that don’t include family meals, start over. Continued efforts will help you create new habits and traditions with your family. Also, keep family meals lively by varying what you serve, conversation, and perhaps even trying some “elegant” or periodic meals with your family. By serving variety, you are also serving quality family time.
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