Quality family time is important, and with busy schedules, mealtime is sometimes the only time everyone can be together. To get the most out of your time together, there are some tips to make it enjoyable.
Importance of Having Quality Family Meal Time
There are numerous advantages of spending a meal together around a table with no disruptions. Some benefits of family meals include:
- Higher academic achievement
- Better health
- Improved communication
- Fewer behavioral problems and high-risk behaviors
In general, kids who eat with their family have healthier eating habits. This reduces the need for vitamins and supplements such as Wellements.
Important Discussions & Bonding Techniques for Family Meal Time
1. Get Everyone Involved with Prepping or Cooking
Start the meal together before it even begins. Give everyone a job to help prep or cook dinner or set the table. You can also make the meal interactive, in which you each create your own personal pizza or put out taco fixings for taco night.
2. Have a No-Distraction Rule
Family dinner night does not need to have too many rules, but one should be no distractions. These include no television and, especially, no phones. This is also true for the parents, and no one should be able to take a call or check their phone until after the meal and cleanup are finished.
3. Create Traditions or Rituals
Having mealtime together can create life-long memories. One way to do this is to pick one or two nights a week that have a particular theme or tradition. This could include having taco or pizza night one day a week, getting to eat off paper plates to cut down on cleanup, or dressing up in a certain theme. It may also be as simple as praying as a family before each meal.
4. Share Your Days
Keep conversations as light as possible. A good starter is to go around the table and have everyone say one or two things about their day. It could be that one child got an A on a math test, or it could be mom complaining that the baby is teething and she had to use Wellements baby tooth oil to help soothe the symptoms. This time can also just be used sharing jokes or funny things that happened that day. Use it as a time to bond rather a time to argue.
5. Make it Fun
The biggest tip in successful mealtimes is to make them something your family looks forward to instead of dreading. While you can have some discussions around manners and eating healthy, such as avoiding preservatives in baby food, the main focus should be spending quality time together and enjoying each other’s company. Avoid fights as much as possible and play background music to keep things light and enjoyable.
If mealtime is something you do not currently do as a family, there are numerous benefits to starting now. It does not have to be every day, nor does it have to be at dinner time. Choose a meal that works best for everyone and have as many as possible during the week.
