Dinner with the Family - When It's Not Feasible

Photo: Chapel Hill Memories

Many studies tout the benefits of eating dinner together as a family (and NOT in front of the TV) such as better nutrition, high self-esteem, less weight control issues, less drug abuse, and better language skills (see here, here, and here). Unfortunately, with so many extracurricular activities and different work schedules, it can be next to impossible for the whole family to sit down and eat dinner together. What can you do instead?

1. Eat with whoever is home. Your daughter has soccer on Mondays, your son has guitar lessons on Tuesdays, and your other daught has play practice on Thursdays. There's no was to ALL eat together, but at least a couple of you can be home at the same time. This can also provide some nice one-on-one time that you may not normally get with your kids or spouse.

2. If your spouse typically works late and misses dinner, agree to have dinner an hour later once a week or so if they can swing it to come home a little earlier.

3. Make dinner to go. Eating toghet doesn't mean it has to be at home. Pack a picnic to take to your child's game or practice.

4. Pick a different meal. There's no rule that says the meal together has to be dinner. My husband is often not home for dinner, so we make it a point to eat breakfast together a few times a week. We often take a picnic breakfast Saturday mornings because we have  a little more down-time then. If I have a day off of work, I sometimes meet him for lunch at his work. Younger children may enjoy having their parents eat lunch with them - just as the teacher (and your child...) to make sure it's ok.

5. If your kids have active social lives rather than set extracurricular activies, agree to have a family night where everyone plans to be home for dinner 1 night a week. Or be the host and allow your child to invite a friend over to eat with the family.

Any other suggestions for incorporating family meals into busy lives?