What's for Dinner?

I recently read a book called Family Dinner by Laurie David. Another recent read was The Cleaner Plate Club. Cleaner Plate focuses on getting kids to eat their veggies, while the David book has a chapter on poetry. But whatever the focus, there seems to be a lot of attention paid to the idea of the family dinner lately. Or maybe there always has been. It is important, after all.  Whenever the topic of the importance of family dinner comes up, proponents emphasize that it’s not just about the home-cooked food. “The conversation is as important as the food,” is the common message.

At my house the conversation mostly consists of, “No, don’t throw that.  Ok, I’ll get another spoon but this is the last one.”

“Please sit facing the table.”

“Is that how you hold a fork?”

“Mmmhmph mph”  “Don’t talk with your mouth full, please.”

At least the last one is not entirely one-sided.  Maybe in time, we will get to discuss deep thoughts and important matters over dinner.  There was one time we talked about the meaning of “integrity” at dinner (it was a homework assignment) and it was actually a pretty good conversation.  Whether or not values and ethics ever become a part of our dinner routine, we have noticed that both girls are calmer (especially Rose Red- maybe because she actually sits down and eats) throughout the day when both parents are home for breakfast.  And even on the nights when their dad goes to the dojo, bedtime is smoother if he leaves after dinner.  And really, that’s enough for me to make family meals a priority.