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*Photo from Wikipedia

I really enjoy having  family dinners. Sitting around a table being able to see everyone’s cute faces enjoying their meal I slaved after. Compliments about how amazing everything tastes from everyone, never forgetting to say a prayer before we eat. No one leaving the table and no burping.

Yeah it never really turns out that picture perfect. My kid’s do not always have the best manners. Here are our biggest eating as a family dilemma’s:

1. Staying at the table: My daughter’s get so distracted and don’t focus for long. I get so sick of nagging them to come back and finish their meal.

2. My 2 year old eating off of my plate: I don’t know why my plate of the exact same food she has is so much more appealing.

3. Complaints: I love to cook and I try new recipes often. My kid’s are pretty good about taking a few bites of new things but when they don’t like it they can be pretty blunt.

4. Not Being Polite: I try to hold a fun conversation with my girls while we eat but I hate when they get mad at one another and start calling each other names.

5.Clearing the table: I would love for my daughter’s to help me clear the table more without me having to tell them to do it over and over again.

I have always heard how important family meal time is. In an article written on spark people written by Becky Hand. Eight reasons are stated why eating meals with your family members throughout the whole week help better your family. Here are a few of the reasons:

Communication and well being.

To expand their world one food at a time.

Prevents destructive behaviors.

I loved these reasons and it makes sense to me that the more time we spend with our children the better.

I also like how at the end of the article it talks about getting your children involved in the process of cooking the meal and what a good experience that can be for the whole family. That is something I am  going to work harder on doing regularly.

I definitely want to continue eating together as a family and am not going to give up any time soon so I think I will go with the saying that practice makes perfect. I will also work harder on the little things that are driving me crazy at meal time.

What struggles do you have with your family when it comes to eating together? 

Carly is a contributing writer for Mommy Moment. She has 3 very dramatic but beautiful girls ages 7, 5, and 2. Carly loves to write, cook, and connect with other moms through this crazy thing called blogging! See what she has been up to over at www.livingthescream.com

Kimberly

Wednesday 4th of May 2011

Even though dinner time is hectic, I think it's one of my favorite moments of the day. Sure my toddler squawks because the food on my plate looks so much better than the exact same food on mine...and the chocolate lab who drools...oy...but we are together and that's what matters. ;)

hairyshoefairy

Wednesday 4th of May 2011

The hardest thing for us right now is getting my 2 yo to eat some of everything. He doesn't want to eat his fish or his broccoli and whines all through dinner about wanting oranges. He stubborn and we have had many a stand-off over it because I'm stubborn, too, and have decided to pick this battle. All I ask is one bite of each but sometimes it takes quite a while before it happens. Once he tries whatever it is he usually finds he likes it but it's just that first bite he fights me tooth and nail on. It wears on me sometimes but he's learning and slowly bending.

grace @ahead

Wednesday 4th of May 2011

it's really good to give kids small chores to have them get used to doing something. one or two a day, then reward them or praise them for job well done. thanks for sharing! :) I hope you can also check out our site at http://www.aheadinteractivetutorial.com. thanks!

Living the Scream » Blog Archive » Mommy Moment

Wednesday 4th of May 2011

[...] week at Mommy Moment we are discussing family Meal time and how important it can be. I would love your [...]

Practical Parenting

Tuesday 3rd of May 2011

I have found that family breakfast works best for us. With the kids so young, they are really into breakfast foods. And they are well-slept and in good spirits in the morning. We make breakfast together, sit and chat, sometimes I read to them and ask them questions about the book (it helps them stay seated). By dinner, my 2 year old is on the run and doesn't sit as long and my 4 year old is spaced out and tired. And daddy doesn't make it home for dinner anyway, so breakfast has been a really nice alternative! Family meals are important...but hard work!!!