Nothing beats spending quality time with your loved ones. Whether it’s a quick father-son bonding time over residential roofing or taking the whole family to a trip to Orlando, anyone will do whatever it takes to be with family. Everyone gets busier the older one gets. Everyone is out of their homes, building a career, or making a living. But amidst all these, it’s always important to pause and take a step back to check on family, even if it is as simple as eating together.
The power of eating with loved ones
Everyone loves to eat, but it’s a different experience when one is eating with family. While it’s almost impossible to eat together all the time due to different schedules, especially when the children are also working, it’s still worth the effort to eat meals together. Looking at this at a larger scale, most American families eat a single meal together less than five days a week, as reported by Harris Interactive’s research in 2013. There are also negative implications when eating alone. Children who don’t eat with their parents are more likely to be overweight or tend to have more trouble in school and deal more with drugs and alcohol. It’s for sure that other factors shape a child’s whole being, but it’s also certain that eating alone is a contributing factor.
Given all these, it shows how powerful it is to eat with loved ones because there are underlying effects on one’s mental and physical wellness. The dinner table is even considered as a “unifier, a place of community” because it invites conversation. However, it is also equally important to recognize that not all families have this kind of luxury, particularly for those who live below the minimum wage. It’s a fact that lower-class families struggle differently because the breadwinners are away most of the time. They ensure that the entire family has enough to survive daily. This brings back the idea of why maximizing every opportunity to be with family is invaluable.
Better late than never
There are many reasons why one doesn’t prefer to dine with his or her family. But keeping that attitude and never finding time for family will not solve anything. Eating together might even address arguments among family members, or if not, at least it allows family members to talk to each other. It’s unbearable not to say anything at the dinner table. It’s a chance for anyone to influence or shift perspectives because anyone can start a conversation. One may end up laughing because of a childhood memory or leave the other angry due to political differences. Dining together does not always have a happy ending, but it does teach families to get to know more about each other, and that requires talking and listening. It’s a healthy way for everyone to understand each other and learn something new slowly.
The point is if one can still do the simplest and most basic things with family, go for it. It’s not perennial, so might as well make the most out of it. Everyone needs to learn to take a break from doing any work-related and set aside differences occasionally. At some point, reconciliation will happen, and eating together just might do it.
