Time for Dinner

One of the most common questions I get asked is how did you keep your kids from getting into serious trouble. I think there are a number of reasons for this, the least of which is my abilities as a parent! One thing we did do right, which is now confirmed by a number of research studies, is that we put a priority on eating dinner together as a family. Studies demonstrate that when a family eats dinner together on a regular basis, children do better in school, have a lower drop out rate, are less likely to engage in pre-marital sex, substance abuse, and destructive behavior. Children also are better behaved and report having a closer relationship with their family and have a stronger sense of family idenity.

Why does this make such a difference? Think about it for a minute. There is something about sharing a meal with someone that helps promote conversation in a more relaxed setting. Having dinner together also means you guarantee a time when everyone can be together and express what is happening in their life. In a world where everyone is going in a million different directions, having shared experiences on a regular basis is vital for your family. When America was a farm based society, families would spend the majority of their time together accomplishing the many tasks necessary on the farm. Now, Mom and Dad work in different locations, kids often come home to an empty house, and with computers, cell phones, and X-Box, when parents are home, eveyone is often doing their own thing.

We tried not to be too rigid, but we strove for having dinner together 5 out of 7 nights a week. Impossible, you say? Not at all, it means making your dinner time together a prioirty and something to protect. This meant that I had to make getting home from the office at a decent time a priority. If the kids had a practice and we could not adjust dinner time enough, we would tell the coach that our kid would be late to the practice. When the phone would ring during dinner, we would let the answering machine get it.

Make having dinner together a priority, you and your family will be stonger for it.