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August 7, 2015 by: DudeMom

Make Your Family Meal Meaningful

The family meal is an important tradition for us.

It was always super important to my parents when I was growing up and, while I’m not as great at it as they were (my Dudes are more active than my brother and I were and my parents’ work schedule was different than my husband’s), we make it a priority to do it as much as we can with The Dudes.

One thing my parents didn’t have to deal with was electronics –there were no cell phones to distract us in the 80s and 90s and we didn’t even have much TV to watch.

Now that we have all of these electronic distractions, we allow our kids to enjoy them, just not at the table. We have never let them use their devices at the table. Whether we are out to dinner at a restaurant or sitting at our table or counter at home, we have a no electronics rule that we never break.

cabin breakfast

It’s the least we can do to keep our relationship strong when we are so on the go when the school/sports seasons get up and going. We use our time at the table to connect with the kids. DudeDad calls it dinner conversation and The Dudes look forward to it each night, saving up things like catching a bomb on the football field, scoring a left footed goal, and getting 100% on a math test to tell him.

IMG_4026

I feel like I learn so much about them when we sit down, make eye contact, and listen to their words. And, according to research, it makes them more awesome people (family meals help inspire higher grade-point averages, resilience and self-esteem. Additionally, family meals are linked to lower rates of substance abuse, teen pregnancy, eating disorders and depression.), a life goal I have for each of my offspring.

We aren’t the only ones who appreciate the importance of family dinner time.

Boston Market, dinner time specialists, and well known pro athlete and mom, Lisa Leslie are huge proponents of unplugged meal times too. That’s why we are partnering with them on this sponsored post to encourage you to join their Logout Look Up Campaign.

We hope that you will take the #LogOutLookUp Challenge with us and commit to making the dinner table a device free, meaningful conversation zone for your family.

As a business owner and busy mom to teens and tweens, I know what a challenge this is. I feel the pull of letting the just watch a movie on Netflix or text their friends so that I can get one more thing done, or just not listen to them bickering over who got the biggest slice of chicken.

But then, I would miss out on this awesome (it’s really our only hope of ever getting a photo that we are all in)…

IMG_5576

So we make it happen. Here’s how…

5 Tips For Making Your Family Meal Meaningful

1. Don’t allow mobile devices at the table. Regardless of the meal time or the location, set the rule that the table is NOT a place that devices are allowed. And yes, that means your baby and/or toddler too. I know it’s an easy solution for a fussy youngster, but if you plan ahead (pack a bag of fun distractions for while they wait for their food), ad eliminate the opportunity (shove your phone to the bottom of your purse and tell them you forgot it!) they will eventually get used to it!

2. Turn off the TV too. Even if you’re all together, if you’re in front of a TV it will get in the way of having meaningful conversations.

3. Don’t get caught up on the meal time. We can’t always be together for dinner. Sometimes it’s breakfast, sometimes it’s lunch, sometimes it’s a 2pm trip to Baskin Robbins for ice cream cones. What’s important is that you make time to do as many meals as possible together, as a family, around a table, without electronics to distract you.

4. Make it fun. Dinner conversation is not the best time to attack your child about his missing math assignments. You want the meal time conversations to be enjoyable and memorable experiences they want to repeat daily. So ask fun questions or play a game. We play a game we call Who Would Win where they pit creatures/people, super or not, against each other and discuss who would win in a battle. For example, who would win? Rocket the Raccoon or Ant Man? (Note the lack of respect they have for Ant Man.)

5. Get the kids involved in cooking. Meal time doesn’t have to start at the table. This summer we’ve done a lot of cooking together with The Dudes. They take turns helping me prepare dinner and they are always so proud of their creations.

To inspire your family dinner adventures, I am giving away two $100 gift cards to Boston Market. Enter below and happy dinning!

*Disclosure: This blog post is part of a sponsored series with Boston Market. All opinions, great ideas, cute kids, and family meal sessions are my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Filed Under: dudemom parents, DudeMom Parents, The Dude Mom Tagged With: giveaways



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On Aging: Because Getting Old Is Sad

Comments

  1. sheri anderson says

    August 20, 2015 at 10:28 pm

    Our family eats out about twice a week and we love Boston Market, would love to win and thanks!!

  2. sue v says

    August 17, 2015 at 5:18 pm

    usually every night… but is more difficult when it is soccer season for the kids

  3. Kristen says

    August 17, 2015 at 10:24 am

    We eat together almost every night, although not ALL of us every night…

  4. Brenda white says

    August 17, 2015 at 2:44 am

    Mostly every night unless someone is working late

  5. JenniferAnne says

    August 15, 2015 at 8:12 am

    My son is still young, so we eat together as a family almost every night

  6. gerry davison says

    August 14, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    the time has come to get back to the basics! family means everything!!!!

  7. Annmarie W. says

    August 14, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    I really try to have us eat together as a family every day, even though it means eating together at about 8pm! But unfortunately as the kids get older, it gets harder & harder…with kids’ work & activity schedules. So probably about 5 nights a week now.

  8. robyn donnelly says

    August 14, 2015 at 6:30 am

    We try to do it once to twice a month is can.

  9. sarah s says

    August 14, 2015 at 4:14 am

    I would say an average of five days a week

  10. Jillian Too says

    August 14, 2015 at 2:43 am

    We eat dinner together as a family every night. On Sundays, our whole family gathers at grandma’s house for dinner.

  11. Crystal says

    August 13, 2015 at 11:14 pm

    We eat together every day of the week.

  12. wen budro says

    August 13, 2015 at 10:09 pm

    We eat together as a family at least 5 nights a week. I agree that it’s so important to ban electronic devices at the table. Conversation and eye contact makes a world of difference.

  13. Terri Quick says

    August 13, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    We get together 2 -3 times a week.

  14. Thien-Kim says

    August 13, 2015 at 6:43 pm

    We eat dinner as a family 2-3 times a week just because of my husband’s work schedule. I’m glad we get in as many as we can.

  15. Robert Tschinkel says

    August 13, 2015 at 3:34 pm

    we eat together once a week , we meet at a casual restaurant and talk for about 1 hour

  16. Carolsue says

    August 13, 2015 at 10:49 am

    We eat together as a family usually only two or three times a week — with school, activities and working hours it’s difficult.

  17. Ellen Casper says

    August 13, 2015 at 8:08 am

    We eat together every night.

  18. DeAnna Keller says

    August 13, 2015 at 1:13 am

    We eat together as a family about 3 or 4 times a week.

  19. Will G says

    August 13, 2015 at 1:10 am

    We eat out once a week.

  20. Jennifer Scheldberg says

    August 13, 2015 at 1:02 am

    We strive to eat together as much as we can. Usually we are able to do that 5-6 nights per week! We are lucky.

  21. breanna pollard says

    August 12, 2015 at 11:49 pm

    At least 4 times a week!

  22. Heather Hayes Panjon says

    August 12, 2015 at 10:27 pm

    We Eat Together As A Family Around 5 Days A Week.

  23. Amy Silva says

    August 12, 2015 at 7:40 pm

    My little family eats dinner together every night!! My parents taught me that a family that eats together stays together!! :) :) We try to do a big family dinner with my parents and siblings at least once a week! Thanks :)

  24. Kristin says

    August 12, 2015 at 3:56 pm

    We eat together every night!

  25. anne says

    August 12, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    We eat out together at least once a week.

  26. steve weber says

    August 12, 2015 at 8:48 am

    We usually eat together 2-3 times a week.

  27. Colleen Boudreau says

    August 12, 2015 at 5:05 am

    5 nights a week.

  28. Lee McKeon says

    August 12, 2015 at 4:59 am

    We eat together 7 nights a week

  29. Marilyn Nawara says

    August 12, 2015 at 4:53 am

    We eat as a family 4-5 times a week.

  30. Pamela F says

    August 12, 2015 at 4:41 am

    With our work schedules, we usually can only eat together as a family 4-5 times/week.

  31. Kathy Artis says

    August 12, 2015 at 4:02 am

    We eat together every night for supper. Thanks for the giveaway

  32. heather eg kaufman says

    August 12, 2015 at 2:24 am

    We eat together every night.

  33. Tammy Allen says

    August 12, 2015 at 12:31 am

    every night we eat together, my daughter has cancer & family time is everything. xoxo

  34. Sarah VM says

    August 12, 2015 at 12:00 am

    We eat together as a family about 5 times a week.

  35. kath g says

    August 11, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    Every night.

  36. sandra says

    August 11, 2015 at 11:42 pm

    maybe 2 or 3 times per week

  37. joni mitchell says

    August 11, 2015 at 11:21 pm

    at least 5 nights a week

  38. Erica Beaver says

    August 11, 2015 at 10:51 pm

    We eat together as a family about 3 or 4 times a week. When we bbq we always eat together.

  39. Laura Royal says

    August 11, 2015 at 10:13 pm

    We always eat breakfast and dinner together!

  40. Rachel Mauffray says

    August 11, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    We eat together every day as a family.

  41. Ty says

    August 11, 2015 at 8:45 pm

    We eat together as a family every night.

  42. Kathy Hoffer says

    August 11, 2015 at 6:56 pm

    We are so blessed with our work schedules that we eat dinner together 7 nights a week!

  43. shaunie says

    August 11, 2015 at 6:23 pm

    We usually shoot for 6 days a week but we only manage about 3 days per week .

  44. Jessica says

    August 11, 2015 at 6:17 pm

    We eat at the table as a family 6 days a week… Sundays are a free for all

  45. shanna says

    August 11, 2015 at 5:48 pm

    5 at least!

  46. Jeffrey says

    August 11, 2015 at 5:37 pm

    Normally get together 3 times a week for eating as a family.

  47. Julie Matek says

    August 11, 2015 at 5:09 pm

    We eat as a family 5 days per week;)

  48. Kimmy Ripley says

    August 11, 2015 at 4:41 pm

    7 days a week! I cook 6 and we go out once.

  49. Jen S. says

    August 11, 2015 at 4:24 pm

    We eat together 5-6 times a week but I feel like that is going to soon dwindle with after school sports starting and other activities.

  50. Linda White says

    August 11, 2015 at 3:41 pm

    At least 6 days a week we eat together

  51. Rust says

    August 11, 2015 at 3:19 pm

    We eat together 5-6 nights a week.

  52. Joella says

    August 11, 2015 at 1:15 pm

    At least 7.

  53. Lois M. says

    August 11, 2015 at 1:06 pm

    Generally most days of the week, I’d say. :)

  54. Holly Thomas says

    August 11, 2015 at 12:43 pm

    We eat together every night.

  55. Sandra Duenez says

    August 11, 2015 at 12:38 pm

    We are empty nesters so we do eat alone at times.

  56. Lisa Brown says

    August 11, 2015 at 11:17 am

    we eat 5 times a week as a family

  57. Lynda Del says

    August 11, 2015 at 7:55 am

    We eat together every single day.

  58. Alison Gibb says

    August 11, 2015 at 7:10 am

    We eat together at least 4 times a week!

  59. Jessica mcfarlin says

    August 11, 2015 at 5:41 am

    We eat as a entire family 3 days a week. My husband is a firefighter.

  60. Linda says

    August 9, 2015 at 6:16 pm

    We eat together usually 6 days a week.

  61. Bridgett Wilbur says

    August 8, 2015 at 11:03 pm

    We eat dinner as a family every night. It’s the one meal I make sure we all enjoy together.

  62. Nataly Carbonell says

    August 8, 2015 at 7:22 pm

    We eat together most of the time, at least 5 times per week.

  63. Jennifer Marie says

    August 8, 2015 at 6:32 am

    We eat together 7 nights/week.

  64. Tabathia B says

    August 8, 2015 at 4:31 am

    I would say around 3-4 times a week.

  65. Natalie says

    August 8, 2015 at 3:18 am

    I try to eat together as a family at least 4 times a week, but it does not always work out that way.

  66. Jessica To says

    August 8, 2015 at 2:26 am

    We eat together as a family every day.

  67. Elena says

    August 8, 2015 at 1:29 am

    we eat together every day

  68. Amanda Sakovitz says

    August 7, 2015 at 11:15 pm

    We eat together 6 days a week.

  69. Kelly D says

    August 7, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    We eat dinner together every day. The kids eat lunch at school.

  70. Lauren says

    August 7, 2015 at 10:36 pm

    We eat dinner together about five times a week.

  71. Julie Wood says

    August 7, 2015 at 10:15 pm

    I make sure that we eat all together at least 5 nights a week. It is kind of hard to in the Summertime, but when school is back in session, we make sure to eat together every night!

  72. Mary Happymommy says

    August 7, 2015 at 10:03 pm

    We eat everyday as a family.

  73. Elle says

    August 7, 2015 at 5:19 pm

    On average, I would say 5 days a week.

  74. Nicole Powers says

    August 7, 2015 at 4:06 pm

    We try to do dinner about 4 times a week depending on dads work schedule

  75. KIRBY says

    August 7, 2015 at 3:49 pm

    5 NIGHTS A WEEK AT THE TABLE….2 OUT AND ABOUT SO I GUESS 7 DAYS A WEEK!

    • CARIK TSAIRIS says

      August 12, 2015 at 2:57 am

      WOULD BE A NICE DINNER TREAT FOR FAMILY!! woo-hoo…

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