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The Importance of Family Dinners: Why We Should Bring It Back

The tradition of having a proper family dinner — where every member of the household leaves aside all their individual chores and gather to devote time and be present for each other — is now a thing of the past, at least for most families. While there’s no denying that American society has changed in more ways than one, allowing a specific time of the day to gather and discuss how everybody is doing is of vital value. Thanks to technology and the fast lifestyle that we are accustomed to, snacking or ‘mobile dinners’ have replaced good old family dinners. Consequently, families fail to connect, and in some cases, there is a feeling of discomfort and estrangement in the household. It’s time to understand why it’s essential to nurture our relationship with our family, and the best solution to that is through good old family dinners. Here’s why.

It Strengthens the Family Bond

To date, no scientific study has established that having dinner together will cure mental issues completely. But we all need to understand at least that mental health problems are on the rise in the present generation, and this can be attributed to the fact that many individuals live alone these days. Through family dinners, individuals can be more open about themselves and whatever they are going through. In fact, scientific research has backed up a claim that positive results are bound to show among kids and teenagers who have sufficient parental engagement. And this bonding is fairly possible during dinner times.

It Helps In Cultivating Good Habits

Rather than feeling pity for children who have already moved into dangerous territories (drugs, alcoholism), there is a need to cultivate good habits from an impressionable age. Modern technology has only aggravated issues like tension, anxiety, and depression. And even now, most people take little or no interest to mingle with their kids or knowing what’s happening in their kids’ lives. Naturally, these kids grow aloof from society and become addicted to social media and other more dangerous things along the way. In an independent study conducted in 2014, it was found that children who ate with their parents were better performers in schools and did not miss their classes. In other words, they grew up to be more sociable than others.

It Promotes And Encourages Good Health

Until a certain point in life, parents must exert control over their children’s diet. In doing so, they will slowly get used to having a nutritious diet during every meal. For example, kids who are left to do their own work and to fend for themselves have been found to gorge on unhealthy snacks, junk food to be precise. And temptations are everywhere — fizzy sodas and drinks with an insane amount of sugar, quick takeaways, chips, and so on. Eating at home is a wonderful way to stick to healthy foods. Visiting restaurants once in a while isn’t a wrong decision as long as the food choices are made with clear knowledge and precise understanding of the nutritional benefits of the same. But for other days, having healthy food in adequate quantities is essential. Eating healthy is basically a habit that takes slight effort, but then it pays off in the end. Kids who attend family dinners regularly grow up to be health-conscious adults.

It Helps With Cost-Cutting

The biggest advantage of having dinner at home is that you can save a few hundred dollars every month by doing this. People tend to forget that saving money is important in the long run because of unforeseen financial woes that could crop up at any time. Your hard-earned money can be utilized for an array of causes and bring happiness in more ways than one. The average American shells out approx $232 every month for meals not prepared at home. If the average American opts to ditch restaurants and prepare food at home instead, they can save around $37 per week per person. Did we mention that it can also save you treatment costs arising out of all those chronic ailments caused by junk food?

Time issues are hard to ignore, yet there’s an absolute requirement in fostering family ties. In a world where most people choose to devote time to each other via technological means, family dinners should make their way back, at least among the present generation. Understanding family values and sensing the requirement of establishing strong bonds can indeed turn reality, once again via this good habit.

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