Comments on: Fight For Your Family Dinner

By: Ashley

Ashley — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 23:53:03 +0000

I agree, it’s important to sit down and eat together. It really does build a family’s relationship, and make them stronger. My family, my parents and my brothers and their families, all comes together on Sunday. We usually all hang out together during the day, and then sit down and have dinner in the evening. Dinner is usually followed by dessert and a movie. This has been going on for at least 15+ years, and every year it seems we grow a little closer. We’re all there to support one another. I have 3 older brothers, the closest in age to me is 16 years older than me, and I’ve always felt close to them. I think my parents have done a great job keeping our family strong, and I hope to be the same type of parent one day.

By: Polly

Polly — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 20:09:17 +0000

Love that idea! Especially if they didn’t get to finish their dinner or eat their dessert. Wouldn’t take long at all for that to sink in. It’s great that you’re starting early with your kids. Thanks for sharing!

By: Natalue

Natalue — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:30:45 +0000

My kids ar still little so it’s fairly easy to gather. But when my husband’s job didn’t get him home until almost seven, we still ate together. It’s so important! I like all your suggestions. It is hard to keep them in their seata so we started a rule – if you’re down, you’re done. One time of only getting to eat half their dinner helps them remember to keep their fannies in their chair!

By: Polly

Polly — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:59:47 +0000

I can only imagine what daily advice your four year old hands out at the dinner table. Priceless! I completely agree with you that parents have the ability to use conversations at the dinner table to teach valuable life lessons (that otherwise might be considered lectures!). Great idea about purposefully sharing your likes and dislikes in a way that gets their brains listening (vs. tuning out!). Thanks for sharing!

By: Polly

Polly — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 12:54:13 +0000

Thanks Kathleen for your comment! Your website is a great resource for parents who are fighting to keep the family dinner hour alive and well. Thanks for sharing!

By: amanda

amanda — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 02:24:18 +0000

I have to say that some of my families best (& craziest) conversations have happened around our dinner table. My husband and I always get the convo going by asking each kid “what was your favorite part?” It is amazing how much info (likes & dislikes) you can pull out of a 14, 11, and 4 year old with that question.. We are usually left laughing @ what ever great wisdom the 4 yr old leaves us with for the day. We also can’t leave the table without Mom & Dad having a turn to answer. I have found that I use this time to teach my girls a lot of ‘life lessons’ that normally they would hear as ‘lecture’. By making it @ me and my likes/dislikes, it really gets theirs brains going! I think it is hard for everyone to get their family around the table every night, but I think it is those times that our children will always remember. (Not the 200th trip to ballet class)

By: Kathleen Cuneo

Kathleen Cuneo — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 01:40:41 +0000

Great suggestions for some guidelines for making family time at the table go well. Sometimes parents struggle with finding effective strategies for getting dinner on the table and getting everyone together. I offer some solutions on my site http://www.dinnertogether.com.