After a busy workday, sometimes the last thing you want to do is come home and cook dinner. But this ritual is more important to your family than you might think.
Sharing meals as a family is important for your child’s overall development. It’s a critical routine that numerous studies have shown can increase adolescents’ health and socioemotional well-being.
Read on to learn about the physical and spiritual benefits of sharing meals together — and get some tips to make daily dinnertime a more consistent habit in your household.
Benefits of Sharing Family Meals Together
There are several benefits of sharing meals together as a family. Focus on the Family, a HopeConnectTM partner organization, states these benefits can range from improving your child’s physical and mental health, as well as their spiritual well-being.
Below are some examples:.
Your Child’s Health
When it comes to your child or teenagers’ health, studies have shown there are physical and intellectual benefits of sharing family meals together.
Having regular meals as a family can increase your child’s vocabulary and improve their academic performance. It can also reduce your child’s likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors, like underage sexual activity or developing a substance abuse problem.
Additionally, studies have shown teen girls who dine with their family on a consistent basis are less likely to develop eating disorders. Learn more about these studies here.
Spiritual Nourishment
Beyond the physical benefits of sharing meals with your family, regularly sitting down to have dinner with your children also serves as an opportunity for spiritual nourishment.
When you’re all gathered around the table and are free from distractions like cell phones, television and homework, it’s easier to focus on:
- Sharing about your day and how God showed up.
- Sharing Bible passages with your children.
- Praying for one another and asking for prayer as a family.
- Talking about your favorite Bible stories.
- Overcoming mealtime struggles.
If you’re looking for fresh ways to connect with your children and share the hope of God’s Word, mealtime can be the perfect place to do it.
Tips for Planning Consistent Family Dinners
If you’re struggling to find a consistent day of the week or time when your whole family can sit down and enjoy a meal together, you’re not alone. Coordinating busy schedules and cooking when you’re tired is hard.
However, prioritizing consistent family dinners can do wonders for your children — and you! Here are some tips to help you as you make the shift toward sharing more family meals together:
- Start small. If your family only gathers around the dining room table for holidays, don’t feel pressured to start serving sit-down meals every day this week. Find one or two days you can commit to and make them happen.
- Prepare your children. Like adults, children and teenagers thrive on routine. Changing your current schedule — even for positive reasons — might be met with resistance from your children. Let them know in advance which days you’ll be eating together and any specific rules you’ll have in place, like no phones at the table. That way, they’re prepared.
- Meal prep. If you know you don’t like cooking after a long workday, plan your meals in advance. Precook the chicken you’ll need on the weekend or use a slow cooker to help you get things going. The less resistance you have, the easier it will be to follow through with your meal plan.
Committing to sharing meals as a family might be a big change for your household, but the benefits make it more than worth it.
KEY TAKEAWAY
When our children are in our homes and we’re sharing a meal as a family, we have the opportunity to fellowship with one another. This is an excellent time to strengthen our family bonds, feed our children and nourish their souls.
They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity[a]— 47 all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved. ~Acts 2:46-47 (NLT)
APPLICATION
If your children are reluctant to start sitting down for dinner, turn meal prep into a game and get them involved in the fun. Play Meal Mix-Up, a light-hearted game that also creates the perfect opportunity to talk to your children about Jesus.
Find this game and more now in the Everyday MomentsTM activities collection!
Clinically Approved by Terri Galindo, LCSW, LMFT
