What's for Dinner?

What should we have for dinner tonight? That question is often at the back of my mind each morning. While I love to cook, some days it’s just too hard to organize a homemade meal, too overwhelming to figure out what to cook, too impossible to coordinate schedules and too frustrating to feed picky eaters. I’m sure you have some of those same issues in your home as well. Despite all those obstacles, I would like to challenge you to make family suppers a priority and fight for that time together! Guard your dinner and family time at any cost!

The world is not a friendly place for families these days. Schedules fill up quickly with various activities that pull us in different directions. If we’re not careful, we will easily go with the flow - toward less closeness, less meaning, and less community. Without a clear plan for our survival and growth, we are apt to become casualties of our hyperbusy, competitive, technology-filled culture that is pulling families apart.

Amidst the pressures we all face each day, family suppers can become a small spot of calm and peace, a bulwark against the mighty swarm of outside forces trying to pull us apart. Family dinners are not necessarily primarily about the food but about the company and the conversation. If there’s no other option, you can connect just as well over take-out some nights as you can over something homemade, as long as you gather to enjoy the time together as you eat. Family dinner is a way to de-stress and if managed correctly, a time to have fun. By that I mean don’t use it as a period of inquisition or a recounting of shortcomings. Keep it light, keep it fun, make it a highlight of the day. Family supper is important because it provides anchoring for everyone’s day, and it emphasizes the importance of family nonverbally. It reminds your child that their family is there, and that they are a part of it. So join me by gathering around your dinner table to eat, laugh, talk, connect and ultimately build a stronger bond with your family!

Need some help with what to talk about? Check out this parent resource - “52-Family Dinner Discussions”. This is a list of 52 fun dinnertime conversation starters for you to use with your family. Some are more serious than others, and some are more spiritual than others, but all of them help you get to know your kids better and can lead to stronger family bonds. A copy of this resource can also be picked up at your campus Parent Resource Board.