Eat Dinner Together

Life is busy, but it is possible to eat together as a family.

Try fitting in dinner after work or sports practice.

To save time and help scheduling, try creating simple meals. You can even cook and freeze meals the weekend before or whenever you have time, and then heat them up for a quick and tasty meal during the week.

Dinner doesn’t have to be fancy. Eating together is what counts.

How to start

Go slowly. In the beginning, don’t expect your family to eat together every day. It will take time to develop this habit. Try setting a starting goal of one to two times per week.

Start simple. Cook meals ahead of time that you can freeze, reheat, and share with your family at your convenience.

A calm environment. Anything that can disrupt your meal (including electronics like phones, TVs, or video games) should be turned off and put away. Without these distractions, everyone will be more relaxed and concentrated on spending time together.

Involvement. Make sure everyone is involved in the meal process. This includes brainstorming, shopping, cooking, eating, and cleaning.

Relax and connect. Keep dinner conversation fun. Share any and all positive events of the day. Tell jokes and funny stories. Ask each other riddles. Encourage your kids to share things that make them laugh.