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You are here: Home / Parenting / Family / The Table Today

The Table Today

May 11, 2012 by amreen

family dinner.jpgOne of my favourite childhood memories is our family dinners at home.  My mom was an excellent cook, and dinner was always something delicious to look forward to.  My parents, my brother and I always sat together for our evening meal.  This was our opportunity to talk about our day, share stories and be together as a family.  Sometimes, I close my eyes just to remember that  precious feeling of being together; at the time, I never realised the importance of those moments – or their transience.

Now, life seems so different. So rushed, hectic, loud.  Our family of five rarely eats together, and it bothers me.  With everyone’s varying schedules, a shared meal is a novelty not the norm.  I’d like to change that, and give my kids the same memories that I treasure so dearly.
Cerys McLellan’s business, The Table Today, is endeavouring to do the same thing.  With her services, Cerys provides solutions whereby families and friends can enjoy meals together easily and more frequently.  Research shows that children excel when they take part in regular family meals, and Cerys’ goal is to help families re-establish those integral traditions for future generations.
I had a chance to chat with Cerys and get some tips on how to encourage successful family dinners:

AO: What are some of the benefits of families eating together?

 

CM: Connecting with each other. Share your day, laugh, vent, plan, schedule.
Oh! and eat!

Healthy, happy, smart kids. Statistics show kids eat healthier even
outside the home, when they’re part of regular family meals. They’re happier
because they’re a part of something special. They learn modelled behaviour,
which helps in and out of the home. And teenagers who eat with the family 4x or
more per week have better grades than those that eat 2x or less.
 

Meal time is a great barometer. You get a baseline for behaviour. You’ll notice when
things are “just not quite right”, and then you have more opportunity to
observe, and to actively listen.

AO: What are some tips you can give us for bringing our families
back to the table?

CM: 

  • Don’t make a big deal about it (you’ll scare your teenagersJ). Start with meals that you know the
    whole family loves. Set the table with everything you need. THEN call the
    troops. But the golden rule is this: Mom is stuck to her chair until the end of
    dinner.
  • If dinner will be later, put out a bag of carrots and a dip.                                                                                                                       
  • Use the dining room. Enjoy it! Who’s more important than your own
    family?
                                                                                                                      
  • Keep meal time short – 20-30 minutes, 5 minute clean-up. It promotes a
    sense of ease for all!
  • Once you have a few weeks in, then try meal plans, throw in more healthy
    choices, grocery lists, organize your kitchen to suit your family meals.
                                    
  • One thing about groceries – Grocery Gateway – they take computer orders
    up to 11 pm for delivery the next morning before you go to work! How great is
    that? The $10 delivery 
    fee makes up for the extra items you pick up at the grocery
    store on the way home when you’re tired and hungry and have no idea what to
    have for dinner.


Filed Under: Family Tagged With: Cerys McLellan, eating together, family dinners, food, kids, parenting, The Table Today

Comments

  1. Precious Moments says

    May 25, 2012 at 8:33 am

    Your blog is very useful. Thank you so much for providing plenty of useful content. I have bookmark your blog site and will be without doubt coming back. Once again, I appreciate all your work and also providing a lot vital tricks for your readers.

  2. Aileen says

    May 18, 2012 at 10:55 pm

    We almost always have Sunday dinner like my husband and I both remember. I make a roast or something that requires more time and everyone helps prep, serve and clean up. It’s my favourite meal of the week, and the kids have come to expect it, which I am going to assume means appreciate it. 😉

  3. Amreen says

    May 11, 2012 at 4:29 pm

    I totally agree. The “social” aspect of eating is so important, and making it into an event. I love the idea of a family sit-down on Sundays. We need more of those old-fashioned traditions in our lives.

  4. Tracey says

    May 11, 2012 at 2:52 pm

    I find my kids eat more food when we all eat together – they’re less distracted, and they just continue eating for the whole time we’re sitting down, it’s kind of like magic. I get more conversations out of them too – they offer more when we’re all face to face. I love it.
    Due to my husband’s arrival time each day, we don’t tend to eat together during the week (it’s often past 7 PM) but I’m working on getting us to have dinners together on weekends – especially Sundays. I tend to make “fancier” fare too – I’m more inclined to “up the pretty factor” if we’re sitting down together, rather than trying to arrange teeny-tiny plates of food, especially if half the time they’re going to cringe and turn their noses up at this cooked vegetable, or that… it’s better for all of us!

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