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Family Table

Sitting down for dinner at the family table may seem like a rare commodity these days, but it can be done, it just takes a little more effort than running through the drive-thru on the way home from whatever extracurricular activity you had to taxi your child to. There are a few key points that parents must consider when trying to make dinner at the family table as enjoyable as possible for everyone involved:

• Timing—this is a very important factor, because if everyone is rushing around trying to get somewhere at a certain time, or just walked in the door and haven't wound down yet from their day, it can cause more frustration than anything. If you are constantly on the go and only get to all sit down for dinner together a few times a week, you should try to make those times as enjoyable as possible by planning ahead and picking the most convenient time for everyone.

• The food—this is another one of the important details that counts. While it may be a huge pain to have to cater to many different tastes, everyone will be a lot more enthusiastic about sitting down together if no one hates the food that is being served. This doesn't mean that you should make several big meals, only that the ingredients in at least most of the dishes you are having should be foods that everyone enjoys.

• Rules of visitors—this is something that many families don't really think about until the time arrives, but it is a good idea to set rules in advance of how often you are allowed to have guests at the table. It isn't that you should never welcome guests, but instead it is a matter of avoiding your child always wanting to have a guest. If this is the case, and the only time you have dinner at the family table, your child wants to have someone over for the meal, they may be using that friend as a buffer. This sounds a lot worse than it is, but when children reach a certain age, they often don't want to talk to their parents about real issues. And most parents won't try to talk to their children about these types of issues while company is around. So, if your child never wants to have to be alone with the family around a dinner table (where much life discussion goes on), it might be time to put a limit to the frequency of having guests for dinner.

• The conversation—having dinner at the family table can be a great place to catch up on your child's life, and for your child to catch up on yours. It is very difficult, with as busy as many families are these days, to find the time to sit down and actually talk to your children. And this is one of the key purposes of having dinner at the family table, so it is best to take advantage of that as much as possible.

While it may not always be easy to get everyone together at a certain time, especially for any real length of time, to sit down together, eat a good meal, and discuss their lives, it is something worth doing. Not only does it promote closeness during the time your children live at home, you will also be glad you made time when your kids are all out of the house and there is no way for these dinners to be possible anymore.

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