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When so many people are leading busy lives, it is essential that they family sit down together to enjoy dinner. As children, our mothers and father made sure that we were at the table for dinner each night. On Sundays, it was customary to not only sit with our immediate family but with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents as well. Every got together and shared a meal, company and conversations.
Today, many families have gotten away from this tradition, but in actuality there has never been a better time to bring these values back. When you consider the coast of eating out at a restaurant, a home cooked meal, that can be shared and re-heated as leftovers is a great way to save some extra money.
Contrary to belief, sitting down for a family dinner does not mean making a microwave meal and watching it in front of the television. It requires everyone at the table, a home cooked meal and conversations. Families with older, more independent children, may find this unrealistic to do each night but here are some tips for accomplishing the task more often then you currently do.
First, don't expect it to happen every night, set up a time ahead of time so that everyone is prepared to sit down and spend time at the table. Second, get the kids involved. Little kids love to help, even if you think that it would be easier without their "help", let them. They think that they are helping and that is all that matters. Let the older kids help plan the meal, it works for the younger kids too. If they are able to help pick out the meal, they are more likely to want and participate in the eating of the meal.
Picking out food is another helpful tip. There is no need to force kids to eat anymore with the large variety of healthy food available. This does not mean let them have mac and cheese each night, as it is still important that they try everything at least once. The rule in my house is that you must try at least one serving of what I am cooking for dinner. Then if you truly do not like it, it will no longer be put in from of you. If it is a meal that everyone but the one child likes, these are the nights that this child gets a "special meal" for the evening. For example, I have a child who does not like baked potatoes, so on night that I make them I take one and make mashed potatoes out of it for him.
When a child is born so is a parent, that's how the saying goes. However the parent is not born with the perfect parenting skills and need to learn and grow with there child. For parenting tips and various information on parenting go to www.parentinginformed.com.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
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