The Importance of Eating Dinner as a Family

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In this day and age, it’s difficult to find time to come together as a family. There are too many distractions around us that occupy our time and attention, and eating dinner together often doesn’t seem as important. It’s true that missing dinner once or twice may not be a big deal, but in the long run, a lack of family dinners can have serious consequences on your family. Don’t believe me? Keep reading to find out why.

Some of my longtime readers may be wondering why I am even discussing this topic in the first place. I usually focus on sales and business topics. However, I feel that the health of the family is strongly related to your occupational success. I have seen far too many business owners work themselves to the bone, neglecting their spouses and children in favor of helping their businesses bring in just a few more bucks. I admire hard workers, but I also believe in a healthy work-life balance, which is why I would never recommend doing such a thing yourself.

However, it can be hard to find the time for family dinners. One of my clients, who is the president of a small software business, puts it this way:

I would love to spend more time with my family and eat together, but it’s tough. My wife is a doctor and she works crazy hours. I’m at the office late most nights, especially when we get swamped with orders. And our kids are so busy with sports and friends that we rarely see them, even when my wife and I are both at home. Sometimes I feel like my family and I are strangers to one another.

In order to counter this type of situation, you have to make eating together a priority. And if you do? There are multiple proven benefits to eating together as a family:

  1. Enhanced communication

By spending time talking and communicating with your children, they’ll develop healthier social skills. This is one reason that kids who eat with their families are found to be less likely to abuse drugs later in life.

  1. Healthier eating habits

I’ve been in the position where I’m so busy and stressed, I barely have time to eat, let alone eat anything healthy. When you’re active and eating on the go, convenience typically trumps health.

  1. Stress relief

Eating dinner with your family at home forces you to slow down. It’s a necessary reminder in our busy schedules to take some time for ourselves.

  1. Save money

This one is a no-brainer. By eating your meals together at home, your family can save on money. Meals eaten outside the house cost, on average, twice as much as those prepared at home. Use the savings to invest in your business or your home.

  1. Your kids will experience more success

Research has shown that eating dinner as a family helps your kids as well. Children whose families eat together regularly experience higher grades and fewer symptoms of depression.

There you have it. While it requires conscious effort to get the entire family together for dinner a few times a week, the results can be incredibly rewarding. For more suggestions on how to achieve the perfect home-life balance, visit my website.