Having a meal together with the loved ones is a way of fostering bonds with each other. It is one of the most important expressions of social living in all cultures around the world. In fact, many families considered it as a treasured practice!
Of course, it’s not just about eating, but when we gather as a family for food, it thickens the love and makes memories! Look at any home; the main activities centre around the dining table. It is where the love and laughter of family and friends echo!
While parents discuss how their day passed, children talk about their activities in the school or other places. Also, it’s at the dining table where we normally iron out all our differences and reconcile. Perhaps, it's the space that provides the opportunity to talk about the activities of the day with each other!
Personally, I've always found this space to be a challenging place to navigate the chaos of life. It was where I learned to refer to 'us' rather than ‘I’ thanks to the practice of 'sharing' in eating. It created a sense of belonging and security within my family.
If any of us teased each other or stole off food one another’s plate, my mother would say, “you are siblings, eat together. No matter what happens, you must always love and trust the people you are eating together”.
Unfortunately, in today’s fast-paced world, where everyone is constantly on the go, many families seem to have totally ignored the importance of eating together. The crazy modern days have cut family dining to a relic of the past! An old-fashioned concept!
We know we all have an array of duties, personal interests and demands. Nobody has time to sit down to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner at home! From parents to children, they rush off to work and school in the mornings, grabbing some fruit or eating porridge on the run.
While elders are busy with their work commitments like late meetings or other engagements and children have sport and school activities, all of us compete for evening-time attention, not to speak about television, social media and smart phones!
But let me say that during my childhood the notion of edging aside dinner hour for any activity was met with vigorous indignation by my parents.
And I believe it’s entirely reasonable to allow liberty for each member of the family to pursue their personal and professional passions, responsibilities and relationships.
Researchers at the University of Minnesota explain that simply taking a few minutes each day to turn off screens and genuinely connect with each other over food can improve the physical and mental health of all family members.
"It is important to know that the benefits of shared meals go beyond avoiding negative health outcomes and fewer depressive symptoms; this research shows that shared family meals promote happiness and positive emotions," said research head William Doherty.
Other research purports to show that kids who eat dinner with their families regularly do better in school and are less likely to form negative characters.
Regular family meals reduce stress levels. Sitting down together allows family members to relax, unwind and enjoy each other’s company. A recent survey revealed that an impressive 91 per cent of parents reported a significant reduction in family stress levels when meals were shared together on a regular basis.
Let me come back to where I started that family traditions and rituals during mealtime, such as saying grace or sharing stories, they further enhance the sense of unity and create a unique family identity.
So, eat together with your children at all possible times so that it will get enough time to talk to you about how everything in their life is going while cherishing their food. This will make them feel more comfortable around you!
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