Meal times are a great time to catch up with friends or family, and a meal shared is a lot more enjoyable than one spent alone. It can be a great time for the family to come together, switch off any electronic distractions and engage in conversation.
This may come as a surprise to you Mums or Dads, but shared mealtimes are crucial to your children’s development.
Time To Teach Your Kids Valuable Social Skills
For young children, it is the perfect opportunity for them to learn table manners and socialising as an adult, you can model acceptable behaviour. Sat around the dining table, you can teach your kids the importance of eye contact when speaking, as everyone is at the same level. This can result in better hearing and understanding as everyone can observe important social cues such as facial expressions and body language that can easily be missed with other distractions going on. Creating this type of atmosphere can help your kids feel more valued, build a culture of respect within the family and develop their self-esteem.
Tasks That Promote Team Building
Family mealtimes can also promote teamwork. Everyone in the house can have a job to get everything ready for the family meal, such as setting the table, pouring drinks, washing up, etc. For young ones, there are some great maths opportunities under our noses for them to do. Can they work out how many knives and forks will need putting on the table?
Additional Benefits
Extensive research has been carried out to find the benefits of family dinners, studies have found that family meals can help prevent obesity. People tend to eat less as they eat more slowly as they are talking between mouthfuls of food.
Mentioned in brief above, family meals are a great way to build your children’s self esteem. By being able to listen to what they have to say, with no distractions, this shows them that their thoughts and opinions are valued.
With just a few examples of the benefits of regular family meals, consider what it is you want to gain from the opportunity of coming together, each family will have different values.
Finding The Right Furniture
What do you need to start sharing family dinners? Only the basic if that’s all you want, a nice dining table and comfy chairs to sit on that won’t make you think twice about staying in your seat for another drink or dessert.
All parents understand that kids can be messy eaters, so using mats under dinner dishes can help protect your dining table. And for the chairs, well it may be better to invest in some suitable dining chairs that are made from an easy to clean material. You can find affordable and versatile designer style dining chairs online in a range of colour variations, making it an easier decision on which colour to choose from. Maybe to encourage your kids, you could let them choose out their own coloured dining chair?
All the benefits you and your children can gain from a regular family meal, it is hard to turn down.