Strengthen Your Family Bond – Eat Dinner Together

Yes, this is going to be a slight deviation from the normal environmental news, but I started thinking about a few things this past weekend about what it really means to be a Good Human. What started it off was seeing yet another family with a giant SUV with 2 television sets in the backseat for their kids to watch…and I hate that. Sorry if you have them in your car, its your choice, but for me, having your kids trapped in your car should be THE time to interact with them. They can’t escape!

Anyways, on to the title of this post…growing up, we ate dinner together every evening as soon as my Dad got home from work. At the time I could not understand why we were forced to sit there and talk to each other, especially as I hit my stride as a young teen; I hated eating with my parents. But now that I am older, I get it – It gives a family time to learn about what is going on in each other’s life, for parents to maybe catch a glimpse into what their kids are doing and for kids to feel like they are taking part in family decisions. I think this is an important thing for families to try to do as spending just this 45 minutes or so together every night (when possible) goes a long way to strengthening the family bond. If everyone is off doing their own thing, like eating at the TV or computer, no one talks to each other…and relationships grow distant.

So if you already do this at home, that’s fantastic, I applaud you. If you don’t, see if you can give it a try. It will be difficult at first if your kids are not used to it, but after a while it will be become normal and I bet you will reap great rewards by spending more time with them and talking about their lives. I think the reason my parents trusted me to “do the right thing” was because they kind of knew what was going on. Sure, I was a teenager and I got in my fair share of trouble, but by having dinner with my family every night, I think my parents got an inside view into my life that kept me away from the big trouble.

Anyways, just a thought…give it a shot and see what happens. You have nothing to lose!

You may also like:

1. Do One Thing: Eat At Local Restaurants.
2. You’ll Never Look At Dinner The Same Way Again.
3. Set An Example Of Planetary Stewardship For Your Kids.
4. We Must Stop Living Throw-Away Lives.
5. I Play With My Boats In The Toilet.

1. Building a Better Mood about Your Money
2. small human regrets

Like this post? If so, please consider subscribing to my full feed RSS. Or, if you would prefer, you can subscribe by Email and have new posts sent directly to your inbox: