Family Meal Time

Today we want to feature a special guest blogger - Grace Albright.  She is the matriarch of the Albright Sisterhood, and a faithful reader of our posts (it's encouraging to know there will be at least one page-view for every article that we post).  We are thankful for the good and faithful mother that God has given to us in her, and we often look to her for wisdom - especially in the realm of parenting.  We hope you enjoy the following article that she wrote on the importance of family meal time.

Albright Family Meal Time
August 2005

Twenty years ago while in the middle of the daily routine of dealing with the seemingly unending struggles of being the mommy of five (which included preparing and serving countless meals to those five noisy and messy diners), I rarely considered that those daily, sometimes dramatic rituals might someday end.  And now they have. The decision to have a daily routine of eating at least one meal a day as a family, sitting at the table together, was a deliberate choice made early in our marriage before we even had children.  Nothing could substitute for all that could be taught at the family table, and the following are some of the benefits we believed to come with such a habit.

Benefits of Family Meal Time

An Albright
circa the 70's

• A scheduled, daily family meal time contributes to orderliness in teaching the discipline of a schedule.
• Related to orderliness, having a planned meal served on a set table trains children in matters of etiquette and planning ahead.
• Serving more nutritious meals is more likely to occur with well-planned meal times.
• Many times, a family meal is the only time of the day when everyone can be together for a significant period of time and share the events of the day without the distraction of a TV, cell phones, toys, etc.  Meal time is most often the greatest opportunity for children to learn the communication skills of speaking properly and listening intently.
• Even toddlers can begin learning to sit still for an extended period of time while involved in a worthwhile activity.
• This is also the time of day when all family members, regardless of age or height, can all sit together at the same level, making conversation more likely and beneficial for all. The egalitarian nature of the table makes the conversation of the two-year-old as meaningful as that of the twelve-year-old.
• Unique to meal time comes the opportunity for training children in matters usually found nowhere else such as table etiquette, gratitude to Mom for her work, eating food the kids may not prefer, taking turns, sharing food with others, treating each other with respect, mediating disputes, etc. Rules of etiquette, gratitude for the service of others, eating non-favorite foods also better prepare children to be guests in the homes of others.
• Having a set time to publicly thank God for food and other provisions is also a great opportunity. Acknowledging Him as the source is another key in urging children to eat and be grateful for food they might not like
• Meal times can transition well into a set time for family worship and prayer.
• Laughter and light-hearted conversation should also be a natural part of the family dinner table and will create lifelong memories of a family in harmony.



Family Meal Time
December 2011

In a culture that craves the convenience of eating food out of a paper bag or sitting in a room with a couch next to a running TV set with a paper plate on the knee, establishing and maintaining the routine of regularly scheduled family meal time at the table is NOT necessarily easier.  Family meal time at the table requires a plan and the mutual agreement of mom and dad to make it work ahead of time: but children will reap a lifetime of priceless benefits from such habits.  Now that my husband and I indulge in the perks of being "empty-nesters," (which of course include sit-down meals much easier to prepare and serve), we definitly miss our children's presence at mealtimes; but we do hope they appreciate and cherish the memories of the countless meals that we ate together.

~Grace Albright