Sharon Moms Topic: Who Needs Family Dinners?

Moms Talk is a feature on Sharon Patch that is part of a new initiative on our Patch sites to reach out to moms and families.

Sharon Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for mothers and their families right here in Sharon Patch.

Each week in Moms Talk, our Moms Council of experts and smart moms take your questions, give advice and share solutions.

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Moms Talk will also be the place to drop in for a talk about the latest parenting hot topic. Where can we get information on local flu shot clinics for children? How can we help our children's schools weather their budget cutbacks?

So grab a cup of coffee and settle in as we start the conversation today with this question:

Why is family dinner important -- or, is it?

Sharon Patch Moms Council member Abigail Marsters writes:

Why are family dinners important? I know when I got my first dining room table, I promised myself it would not be a laundry table.

We had family dinner, lunch or breakfast at least once a day at that table as the children grew up. We planned it, we made time for it. Sometimes it lasted for 15 minutes and sometimes it was 60 minutes, sometimes it was take out and sometimes a lovingly crafted meal, no matter what we did it and we loved it.

Family dinner allows everyone to sit together, to look at each other, listen to each other, share time, affection and thoughts. We would usually start with a question: What was the funniest thing that happened to you today? It is so much more creative than "How was your day?"  "Good…." There was often a lot of laughter and learning. We each got to know each other better with each meal, especially as the busier the children got in their lives. 

Now when the kids are grown and gone and come home to visit, we plan family dinner as the center event of the homecoming.

When the four of us sit down together it is magical. We, each of us, treasure it and celebrate it. It is so important for us to reconnect with each other, to look each other in the eye and really hear and share with each other. 

There's a great article on family dinners  http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760-1,00.html in Time magazine. It talks about how family dinners help improve school grades, improve everyone's health and safe teenage behaviors, improve social skills, lessen stress and tension, and strengthen your relationship with your children and theirs with you. 

And the good news is it is never too late and you get better at it with practice. So start out small, maybe twice a week and build it up. It will definitely be worth it.