The Importance of the Family Dinner Table
By Leanne Ely
Copyright (c ) 2001

The family dinner table is a place of communion, fellowship and a means of reconnecting with those we care about the most. 

"Dinner! Come to the table!" 

Do you remember your mom hollering that very statement when you were a kid? Do you remember running down the stairs to familiar smells and rushing to 
take your place at the table? 

The family dinner table is a place of communion, fellowship and a means of 
reconnecting with those we care about the most. Over a simple dinner of 
scrambled eggs or more elaborate family fare of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, 
important stuff happens. Relationships are realigned, the news of the day is 
exchanged and coming events are discussed. More importantly, memories are 
made for both adults and children. One day, your child will look back on all 
those dinners around the family table with fondness. One day, you will look 
back wistfully, actually missing the chaos of trying to get everyone to the 
table while the meal was still hot!

Unfortunately, today's family dinner table is all but missing from the home. 
We have sacrificed our family table for all manner of activities and way too 
often, our meals are situated around the blue glow of the family television. 
Conversation is limited to pass the salt and stony silence while the blare of 
TV fills the room.

But actually making the meals is a big issue, too. Women are busy, tired, 
exhausted and overwhelmed with responsibility. Mom works hard at the job or 
at home all day. Making menus to post on the refrigerator doesn't happen 
anymore because there is "no time". Going to the grocery store usually means 
going without a list and throwing a bunch of prepackaged stuff into the cart 
because dinner needs to be easy and fast.

The simple practice of making a menu each week will not only help you provide 
some structure to the family dinner hour, but also will save you a lot of 
money on your food budget. A simple thing like keeping a running grocery list 
on the fridge will help you avoid last minute trips to the grocery store. 
Your family will be eating healthier and you won't be as stressed out because 
you know what's for dinner Tuesday night. And while you might not be able to 
pull off a Norman Rockwell picture perfect family dinner every night, I bet 
you could do it at least one night a week. 

Menus aren't just for restaurants. They deserved a special place of honor on 
every family's fridge.

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