Tuesday, January 15, 2013

The Importance of Eating Together as a Family

Although I don't have kids myself, I do spend a lot of time with my family, which has many cousins in it. After seeing this infographic and the information is presents, I don't understand how any parent could overlook the importance of something as simple as eating dinner together as a family! When I was growing up we always had to make sure that we were home for dinner so we could eat as a family. Now, us kids did play sports and were involved with other various activities, but that just meant that dinner time was a little bit different each night -- we still were required to eat together! I remember being annoyed by this at times, particularly when I wanted to go hangout at one of my friend's house but my mom made me come home early for dinner -- but I also learned to appreciate the bonding time we as a family had -- which sadly many of my friends didn't have with their own parents or families. I think this is a major reason why my family is still as close as it is today, because we made spending time together - and taking an interest in each other's lives -- a priority. Take a look at the infographic below (found from OnlineClasses.org) to see some eye-opening statistics about what eating dinner as a family can do as opposed to not eating dinner together... Family Dinners Infographic

9 comments:

  1. Great post! It is a required activity that our family sit down together and eat every night. It is really nice being able to connect this way.

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    1. Desiree,
      That is so great that you're family has made it a priority that everyone eats together each night! I think this is a lost value in today's society, and I don't think people realize how important it really is to make the time to be together every night! Not only does it ensure that everyone eats a healthy meal at a good time, but it allows for people to bond as a family. I'm sure your kids will look back on it fondly when they are older as they realize the gift you have given them by doing this. I know when I have kids this is definitely something I am going to make a priority too!

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  2. I'm a believer in family dinner time and do that with my kids every morning and night. Great blog!

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    1. Fredrica,

      Thanks so much for the kind words! It's always nice to hear of other families that also make eating dinner together a priority! :)

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  3. Love this! My family has always been strict about family dinners and it's one of my favorite memories growing up-- we still get together every Sunday to keep the tradition going. :)

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    1. Olivia,

      Mine too! I remember begrudging it at time as I was growing up and had to "miss out" on some of the things my friends were doing. Now that I'm older, I look back at the time and feel lucky that my family cared enough about each other to make one another a priority!

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  4. Thanks for sharing, Carolyn! The infographic is certainly an eye-opener. I was raised much in the same way as you were, and I’ve implemented that in how I raise my kids. I didn’t have those statistics in mind back then, and just really wanted to create a good environment for my own children. Family bonding shouldn’t stop with meals and conversation. I also find it important that parents take an interest in what kids like to do for fun to keep them feeling young.

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    1. Thanks so much for your kind words Nita! I love info-graphics b/c they lay out the information in a way that is so easy to understand! I think it's great that you're carrying on this tradition with your own family from when you were growing up -- I plan on doing this with my own kids someday when the fiance and I start our own family! It's nice to know there are still others out there that value their family time too!

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