Teens and the Family Dinner Table
I’m a mom to two teens now. (Which is really weird, since most days I don’t feel a day over 25!)
As our children change stages from newborn to infant to toddler to preschooler to elementary kid to middle school our worries change too.
We go from worrying about them gaining enough weight to gaining too much weight.
We go from worrying about them being too attached to us, to worrying that they don’t care about us at all.
Then, when they are teens, we worry about some big life issues. Safety, drug use, alcohol use, sexual promiscuity; things can get frightening quickly.
Thankfully, we know that there are some things that can help our kids through all of these stages.
It is really simple really.
Yet so powerful.
Eat dinner with your kids.
Yes. As often as you can, eat dinner as a family.
Oddly enough, the food does not matter.
What matters is the time. The expectation. The ritual.
@Dakotapastor sent me this infographic today, and it reaffirms our family routine of dinner together, every night. (Even when I don’t want to cook!)
Chime in! Do you eat dinner together as a family? How many times a week? Have you noticed any positive effects?
We grew up in a different time, when parents weren’t over scheduling their children. I had tennis after school and NEVER missed dinner. But when I got a job as a junior, I did miss dinner a few times a week. I would say we were in the 5-7. Does the infographic imply that 3-4 times per week is somewhere in the middle. May try drugs but also has friends that don’t drink. We eat dinner 7 days a week, but J’s only 2. Who knows when he grows up how many activities he’ll have. Hopefully, it’ll still be 5-7 for us.
Twitter: lisacng