Family mealtime can be hard to come by these days. Busy schedules, extracurriculars, and just living life can easily get in the way—making gathering everyone around for a hot meal much more difficult. But the importance of family mealtime goes beyond everyone eating food at the same time in the same place. It even goes beyond improved nutrition.

To start, family mealtime is a great opportunity for parents to model healthy eating to their children. Young or old, kids benefit from developing eating habits in the comforting atmosphere of a family meal. Parents who eat with their children also tend to have a closer relationship with those children.

Kids who eat regularly with their families also tend to have higher fruit and vegetable intake, a healthier weight, and a lower likelihood of behavioral problems. One study even found that family mealtime can decrease the risk of disordered eating in adolescence. These are all incredibly good things!

Even with all those benefits, it’s not always easy to find a time and place where everyone can be home. Here are some tips to increase those opportunities and make the most of family mealtime whenever possible.

TRY TO SIMPLIFY.

Not every family meal needs to be a gourmet feast. Homecooked is better than take-out, but you can keep things simple by taking advantage of meal prepping ahead of time. That way, you can keep those busy evenings from becoming even more hectic.

Other ways to simplify include washing produce when you get home from the grocery store, cooking extra protein or other ingredients to be used in multiple dishes, and taking advantage of healthy frozen meal options like Citrus Pear. These all go a long way to simplifying mealtime and making family dinner possible.

ADD IT TO THE SCHEDULE.

You’re already scheduling gymnastics practice, piano lessons, and playdates—why not add family dinner to your calendar? Even if it doesn’t work every night, try to find a time a few nights a week when everyone is available for at least 30 minutes. That way, your family knows what time to be there and that it is a priority.

TURN OFF ALL SCREENS.

Family mealtime is about conversation and bonding—which is hard to come by if everyone is distracted by screens. So, try turning off computers, TVs and tablets when dinner’s ready. By making the dinner table a phone-free zone, you can give everyone the opportunity to focus on who is in front of them rather than who is on their screen.

MAKE IT FUN.

Family mealtime should be enjoyable! Keep your family engaged by getting them involved in the planning and preparation. You can let family members pick new dishes to try cooking or eating.

Mix things up by having theme nights like Taco Tuesday or finger food night. Adding meals from other cultures into the rotation and eating with chopsticks can make dinnertime fun and educational. Even a picnic in the front room or outside on a warm evening can make things interesting.

Most importantly, engage with each other. Keep the conversation going by asking questions about everyone’s day—what made them happy, what made them sad, what they are proud of from the day, etc.

With a little planning and preparation, family mealtime can be the best time of the day. With all the benefits, why not give it a go in your house this week? We promise you won’t be disappointed with the results.

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