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  5 0 I think you'll hear a lot of people telling you that you need to sit down together as a family, and I mostly agree. The benefits have been spelled out in the other (great) answers here. But! It sounds like your family has a pretty good thing going on. There's no one right way to raise a family. What if you instituted more than just the Sunday brunch? Add a couple other nights where you are all expected to be together, and make it really fun and special. Then the rest of the week you zing and whiz around like you're used to. Just brainstorming here... Misty Brown answered in Feeding the Family about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by Russ Campbell, NWEBS… 0 0 I especially like the imagery of "zing and whiz around" and then suddenly they coalesce into a group enjoying a meal together (and family magic happens hopefully). I was in error in not acknowledging the fact that they do have good food practices happening already. Good points. Russ Campbell, NWEBS commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  4 0 My kids are 9 and 7 and we all sit down to dinner together pretty much every night we eat at home. I'd say that the most tangible benefit is talking. With our busy lives we rarely have the opportunity to discuss things as a family and our dinners provide a really nice opportunity to talk together. Marty Unger answered in Feeding the Family about 1 year ago | Report 1 comment by MyrnaMinkoff… 2 0 I wish I'd had more of this when I was a kid, and frankly, I wish I had it today. I go to my parents' place for dinner on Sunday nights most weeks, and usually we eat in front of the TV. Invariably, I'll be trying to have a conversation with my mom and will get distracted/interrupted by the TV unless I specifically ask her to turn it off. I don't have a TV at home, so it is even more grating than it might be otherwise. So, yes, this is a vote for sitting down to eat together, regardless of age. MyrnaMinkoff commented about 1 year ago | Report Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  3 0 Oh, YES! Now the opinion you will be listening to is one of a person that grew up in the 50s and 60s so my experience may be very different from yours, but I hope you will find some value in what I say. There are so many stresses and forces pulling us this way and that throughout our day that having one period of time when the family can sit together and engage in common conversation is a grounding experience unlike any other. If you just look at the history of the human race you will find the importance of eating together is a common thread that runs through all cultures. Breaking bread (sharing ourselves, our food and even possessions), religious observance (Passover Seder, Christmas feast), personal celebration (birthday, housewarming, etc.), the simple sharing of conversation over coffee, tea or some other repast are all examples of how preparation, presentation, and enjoyment of food in the company of others is essential to social learning. Preparing food and watching others enjoy it is a rite of passage in growing up as you learn to dedicate yourself unselfishly to a task that will be a memorable but yet transitory experience. Spending time learning the techniques of cooking with your parents or others prepares you for being on your own and having the tools to create a family social experience with friends and acquaintances. This is where children learn the art of table manners, the appropriate flow of conversation, and learn the structure of social hierarchy as adults (parents) and children take their turns in the social and physical process of the meal. In my youth there was a round table sharing of what happened that day to all of us that my father conducted. Sometimes he took center stage with important news and at other times he wanted to know all about what had happened with us that day. In my day, there was preparation time (usually my parents' time to talk alone), but we set the table, sitting together while eating and talking, clearing the table, dessert, being excused for homework or chores while my parents talked and enjoyed coffee. I can remember the days of hard conversations, laughter, stories, great meals, being appreciated by my parents and on occasion corrected or lectured by them - but still there was the meal. I make meals, to this day, attempting to duplicate the tastes and experience of my youth. Of all things that happened in our day we always came together at 5:30 to eat dinner. I remember when I had my first job during high school fielding a call to come in unexpectedly and taking a moment to make the aside to my mother asking if it was alright to miss dinner (the answer was always yes, but I asked). I had a girlfriend in high school that showed me where she ate her meals in her room alone as her mother would fix food and leave it on the stove for everyone to serve themselves when they wanted. I thought to myself "what a lonely existence". Teaching your children to eat well and appropriately is commendable, but where is the family time of bonding and communication? Try scheduling family meal time a couple of times a week and see what occurs to your relationships and knowledge of each other and what is happening in your collective lives. Russ Campbell, NWEBS answered in Feeding the Family about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 How can we answer that for you? Is it a benefit for your family to have a ritual of getting together every day to break bread? A lot of smart people across the country say it's a good thing. Is it good for everyone? Is it right for you? Only you can answer that. I will relate my own experience. I have a 5.5 year old boy and an 18 month old girl. Our pediatrician keeps telling us we need to have family dinners. That it's REALLY important. She's a smart lady - I don't think she's wrong IN PRINCIPLE. But my take is that she's being dogmatic. Do I eventually want to have family dinners? Absolutely. When both kids are old enough to sit down and eat without me having to wrestle them the whole time. Probably a few more years. Until then, I'm not going to do it just because someone thinks I "should". So what I'm saying is, only you can answer if it would provide a benefit to you. Seems like a lot of busy families value the togetherness of family dinners. dawdler answered in Feeding the Family 11 months ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 I think that sitting down for meals is just a way for some families to fill holes that may be lacking in their relationships. But its not a requirement for all families, especially if you have untraditional schedules or something. As long as you feel you have a good connection with your kids and find other ways to spend time together, then it doesn't have to be over dinner. I know in my house, we don't even have a dinning room table. So we eat where ever we're sitting at the time, livingroom, bedroom, walking out the door etc. Erica answered in Feeding the Family about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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  0 0 I grew up in a family of five in the 70s that sat down for a family dinner nearly every night. Often we were joined by my paternal grandparents. Today when I think back to my childhood, it is those family dinners which resonate the most in my memory. As for my own family, our first house didn't have room for a kitchen table, so we ate all over the place at all different times. When we moved, we gained a kitchen with a kitchen table and we suddenly were able to eat together. It made a unbelievable difference in our family dynamic. We had conversations, told stories and jokes, debated current events, got recaps on the school day, etc. Family dinners have now become such a part of our lives that the kids express disappointment when we're not eating together--unfortunately an increasingly common occurrence as the kids get older and the activities take up more and more time. So, yea, a long answer to your question, but make the time and sit down together. There's simply no doubt in my mind that it'll be one of the best decisions regarding raising your family that you'll ever make. David answered in Feeding the Family about 1 year ago | Report Comment on this answer Enter your comment or ask a new question preview THIS IS A PREVIEW: Click "Post" to submit it or "Edit" to make changes. edit Please wait… This could take a minute if the tubes are clogged.

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