Although some things never change, some things do, but, perhaps, shouldn't.
Please believe I know how busy schedules are with parents working and kids in
a zillion activities in addition to school concerns. Been there, done that
for sure with four of my own, and even now chauffeuring grandkids.
Something important has been all but lost in the shuffle - the family meal.
Only a few of my current students say they sit down to dinner with family
regularly, with NO TV as a distraction. The family dinner not only provided
a nutritious meal, it provided essential time together for relationship-
building and sharing. Kids learn much from the older generation, without it
feeling like a lecture, if stories, values, and traditions are shared in the
context of a social event. Kids may even learn cooking skills when they're
old enough by helping prepare the dinner. For a family Christmas present, I
bought cookbooks for each of my kids which contained many recipes quick and
easy for families to prepare together, but also with many "messages" worth
sharing to build relationships which will last a lifetime between children
and parents/grandparents, and among siblings. This particular cookbook was
written by a Catholic priest who is a chef, so it also contained many
religious traditions related to meals. Perhaps, you can get to anyone's
heart through their stomach!
