Eat Together Anyway!

Many of my greatest memories as a child were the times spent around the kitchen table eating dinner in the company of family members. It was a time I looked forward to. We sat, talked, joked, ate, exchanged ideas, heard the latest news about school and around the neighborhood, and heard our parents’ latest plans for family activities and gatherings. It was another great opportunity to connect and bond.

Family structure has changed so much over the passing years. Family dinner spent together around the table has almost become a thing of the past. Parents have such a long work-day schedule and are often also busy transporting children to after school activities that many don’t have time to prepare the meal that will bring family together in sit-down fashion around the table. It is a sign of the times.

So, the choice becomes the fast alternative; fast food. And the par-takers might eat in isolation of each other once they get home or maybe even gobble it up in the back seat of the car on the way home from the days activities. But with a little patience, even that fast food alternative can be made into bonding time around the table. Bring the fast food home and set up the kitchen or dining room table, just as you would if you had cooked the meal for the typical family gathering and eat together anyway.

Everyone can get involved in the preparation, if you like, since everyone is likely very hungry and would love to eat a whole lot sooner. And once the prep time is done you can all sit around the table, maybe in an informal picnic style and enjoy those pleasurable moments of eating together.

Though busy, tired, or anxious to eat after that long day, converting the fast food experience into family dinner around the table can create that connection needed so much to reassure love, support, and encouragement and also secure the bond of family ties.