The family meal includes a small tech device, the cell phone, or television. Everything that stifles conversation.
If your family dines out on a regular basis, it can lose it’s significance. It turns into just another stop to grab a meal and go. For some families, it is the only time during the week that they are together sitting at the same table. That is significant in and of itself! Or has it become a bother?
With busy schedules (some self-imposed), families don’t have time to stop for thirty minutes to eat and chat together, especially during the week. Ah, but do they?
From what I hear from school children, this is the new “normal”: Dad is on the computer. Mom is texting or on the phone chatting away. The children are in front of the television or in their own rooms. And that’s good for whom?
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You’d think that the highlight of the day for parents would be to get home and enjoy and delight in their children.
It may sound old-fashioned, but children are exposed to and develop a lot of skills at the family table. They learn:
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- table manners
- to build conversation skills
- when not to interrupt
- to try new foods
- how to properly eat certain foods
- how to set a table
- how to clear a table
- how to sit properly
- to share their experiences of the day
- to seek solutions
- to feel secure that their parent(s) want to be with them
- self-discipline by sitting at the table throughout an entire meal
- about their parent’s
Whether you microwave a tv dinner or bring in take-out, spending time as a family will develop trust, respect, good manners, and establish communication. The latter will be critical as children become teens. Chew and chat; do it often.
Doing it with suavity: Although sometimes unavoidable, try not to bring up bad grades, undone beds, or any other topics that could turn into a lecture or reprimand. You will survive a meal without your phone. Try it and let me know what happens.
Rosalinda Randall is an Etiquette and Civility Consultant. She provides on-site workshops for your sales team, front office staff, new hires, exit package, managers, high school and colleges. She brings a modern attitude and a little humor to the age-old topic of etiquette. For a list of workshops, please visit, Your Relationship Edge, a California based company. 650.871.6200