Do you eat together as a family?

I posted an article on Almost Fit today on the benefits of eating together as a family. I wanted to give Iowa Avenue folks a little additional personal info, and ask you: What is your family eating culture like?

Here's a little history, and our current practice:

Growing up, we went through brief periods of time where we tried sitting at the table for dinner, but in general we ate as a family in the living room in the company of the television. And while the "T" word often kicks off a kneejerk negative response, I will tell you that eating together, even in front of the television, in my opinion drew us together. We conversed during dinner, and shared a sense of commonality that is critical in my opinion for a healthy family life.

Those conversations at our living room-style dinner often led to deeper, indepth parental conversations later in the evening. On the other hand, I think the biggest down side of eating in front of the TV is I learned to eat mindlessly - not paying attention to the quantity that I was consuming. When you sit at a dinner table with a set amount of food in front of you, it seems like you focus more on what you're eating, how much you're eating, and so forth.

These days, with a family of my own, our family "culture" is to eat together at the dining room table. We occasionally have music in the background, but never the television. On occasion we we might have pizza in front of the television at the end of a long week, but that is probably once a month at most.

On a daily basis, we eat breakfast together when possible (probably 4-5 times a week), lunch is hit and miss (maybe 3 times a week), and dinner consistently each night.

How about you? Do you eat together as a family? And if so, what does your family look like? Families come in all shapes and sizes - not just those with kids.

Best to all of you,
Metroknow
AlmostFit.com

Tags: almost, diet, dinner, family, fit, meals

Comment by Lisa Newton on July 15, 2008 at 8:17pm: When I was growing up, we used to eat as a family, especially breakfast. My father used to work 11pm-7am, so while we were eating breakfast, he was enjoying a cold beer. A funny time for most people, but for him, it was the end of his workday.

With my own family, my kids and I almost always ate dinner together, but usually while watching TV. The difference for me was that we had some great discussions about what we were watching, regardless of whether it was a movie, the news, or even a sporting event.

As my kids got older, having dinner together was more difficult, due to schedules, work, school, etc.

But, as a test of family togetherness, when I took my kids on our cross-country trip, we basically spent 5 weeks together. We were in the same car, the same motel room, and doing the same activities. We never had a fight and only small disagreements. And believe me, when 5 women, that's not easy.......................:)

I'm happy you're able to enjoy your family meals, Metroknow. Take advantage of them now, while your kids are small.....................:)

Comment by Metroknow on July 15, 2008 at 10:22pm: Your upbringing has similarities for mine - we had similar discussions. Although we don't watch television with our little ones during dinner, I am also not "religious" about that - it is just the pattern we've developed, and we really feel it's the right thing for us right now.

Comment by Metroknow on July 16, 2008 at 3:05pm: @ATD: I know what you mean about the trance concept. For us growing up, I think we never had that problem because we got so used to talking during TV, and being quiet when the show "required" it. We also, like Lisa, talked about the shows themselves. This is still the habit of my parents, and when we go to their house it is a bit of an adjustment for my wife since she grew up primarily without television.

@ Sheila: Wow - your father sounds like my Dad's father. Similar fear of disrupting his equilibrium. My dad also swore he would not allow such a thing when he had his own family, and lucky for me he was entirely successful. Growing up my dad really was both the authority in our house and my close friend in the sense that talking to him about our thoughts and feelings was always at the top of our list of nightly activities. So I definitely agree - even though TV was part of our family culture, we were not the stereotypical family who didn't talk to each other because TV was on - in many ways it encouraged conversation.

Comment by Susanna on July 18, 2008 at 1:54pm: I grew up with my parents divorce, but whether I was with my dad or my mom, we always ate together. Generally, the TV was on but it was not easy to watch from the table so it was mostly ignored. We talked about our day. TV in my childhood was only 5 channels so when a special movie came on, it was a big deal (my dad did not enjoy going to the movies). We were then allowed to take our plates and eat in the living room. Big nights were The Wizard of Oz and the Christmas specials.

This has really lived on in my family. Every year we take a family vacation together (my mom, brother and his two kids). One trip, we took a Disney cruise. They are well known for having great activities for kids. You can actually drop your kids off in their play areas in the morning and not see them until bedtime if you like and your kids won’t be disappointed. As a matter of fact, you pretty much have to drag them away. One dinner, my brother came back from the play area feeling a bit dejected because he “asked” the kids if they wanted to have dinner with us and they had said no. My mother and I shook our heads and said, “Unacceptable!” We walked to the play areas and said, “Come on, it is dinner time.” And they came, and they were very excited to tell us what they did that day.

My husband always ate dinner with his family as well, so we keep up the tradition when he is home. Because he travels quite a bit, I end up eating alone often. I make sure to schedule dinners with friends. Eating is a social activity. The concept of breaking bread with family and friends is an essential human need. It is a critical ingredient of a healthy lifestyle.

Comment by JJ on July 18, 2008 at 11:57pm: Well we used to eat dinner together but since I have a new 'lifestyle' now, my eating schedule is different from the usual. But we still eat together in this one particular month in every year (It has something to do with celebration).

Regards,

JJ