Does family dinners at night strengthen the family?

I think it makes a difference. We don't all eat together much.. sometimes we do.. my daughter and son in law and i don't eat together much.. we just eat when we are ready.. maybe twice a week we eat together. I try to give them a hug a few times a week. I pretty much try to stay out of their way when he is home, because he works such long hours.. when he gets home he wants to see his wife.

my dad used to tell me this:"if you could spend more time with us(and my mother),i would like to extend my greatest appreciation".i thought im a tolly ** after heared this.i am the only child in my family and enjoyed a happy childhood,however,i want to be an independent man,after i went to collage,i rare have dinner with my parents,i went out to resturant with friends 15 days per month in the school holiday.and i usually moved my food into my room while playing WOW at the time when having dinner at home.now i really wish to fly to home to have dinner with my parents when i read ur discussion.

Hi KizzyCatfish well I grew up in the country on a farm and farm people tend to eat at the table with the whole family present. they had no other ways of doing in that era. we did get to talk over problems and strengthen family bonds,. But as my parents never got a long some times the togetherness was strained. but I guess they loved to fight as they refused to divorce. He at forty years her senior should never have married her,or her him. but they did and they fooled a lot of people.but I and my younger sister knew it was a sham.but for families that get along I think its really good for all to eat dinner together.It creates a bond between family members which is so good.

Yes, during dinner we can talk a lot about anything that happened in school and office. You can have quality time here, explain some things with your kids and let them know you still have time for them and the family.

Definitely, dinner time together with the family provides at time of day when family members can communicate with one another filling in information that may or not be important. Every type of communication between family members keeps them together and allow comfort of pleading for aid if necessary, at the current time and future. Communication is very important whether its with the family, or even just friends. It is very easy to observe. Friends who keep contact with each other will stay friends, whereas friends who communicate less and less lose each others interests eventually. You will notice this during a child's development the most. But definitely any form of communication between two or more parties will create a stronger bond than without communication.

Yes I do believe that eating together whether it's breakfast, lunch or dinner makes family ties stronger because that's when the time when they can pray together as a family and bond and have quality time.

I think it strengthens the family, for sure. Although my kids are grown now, we always had meal-time with the family. Thanks to Fbook, they ran into friends they had when young, and I used to keep them all the time when their Mom was in the hospital and stuff. One of the things they told my daughter was how much they appreciated having set meal-times, and the family discussions about our day and all that. They said they never had that at home, and that was one of the things that they really appreciated. I always had that kind of meal-time when I was growing up, and I thought it a worthy habit to do with my own family. When the grandkids visit, I do that with them too. It brings the different generations together, and we discuss our days, friendships, school, church, and whatever. My children also have a set meal-time with the family. I do think it's a good habit, and brings everyone closer as a result.

I think it's very important for the whole family to share meals together, as eating is a communal thing and can help the family communicate with one another plus learn the art of sharing (e.g. they are sharing food). However, I don't think any family member should be forced to join the others at the dinner table if they don't want to or have something else on, but chances are high if they've been brought up to dine with the rest of the family from a young age, they'll want to continue doing it.

Hi Kizzy, It may not be possible to have family dinners together every day because of various reasons.As long as there is a good rapport between the members , spending the weekends together and going for holidays and such other things - I guess this helps in keeping the members close to one another...Basically what is needed is spending time together as and when one can and also be aware and sensitive to each others needs....

Actually it doesn't have to be during dinner only. It could be breakfast, lunch or dinner. It just have to be that all the family members are present in the dining table. While eating, the family members get to share their stories and activities , thus enabling everybody to know how everyone is doing. A happy family is one where the members get the chance to communicate always and it's mostly through meals specially dinner when everyone is already home from their respective activities. Thus, strengthening the family.

I think yes, because it is the only time when everyone is not in a hurry and the time to recall what happen the whole day. We usually ask the kids on what happen in school and we have a great time listening to their stories.

family dinner must be always encouraged.it is also one of the best way to improve the family bond among family members.everyone in family can share their mind and thoughts with others.in this busy world everyone is expecting some amount of time from others.it can be fulfilled by arranging family dinner often.

I think it does. Family is very important to my husband and I. We always eat dinner together as a family with our children. We also have family nights where we order in and play board games. We have done this for about 3 years now and our kids still look forward to this, even our son who is a teenager.

I absolutely believe that family dinners spent together are strengthening. It is a great way to spend some quality time with each other and to maintain open lines of communication. It is especially important in this day and age when everything can be so fast paced and impersonal (texting instead of conversations, skyping instead of face-to-face meetings, etc.)

Very good discussion here! I did eat dinner most of the time as a family when I was young with my mom. And we actually werent very close. With my dad we did eat together but it was in the living room in front of the television. I am closer with my dad; And at my moms house I had siblings and we are not close at all, I mean we care about one another but we dont talk to one another unless its a holiday or an emergency. My dad and I talk just about 3-4 times a week. Now for my family. We dont eat together as a whole, but the kids always do. I serve them there plates to the table. And set out the cups and silverware. Making sure they have what they need and put the dish on the table so they can get seconds. I eat with them occasionally, but really I wait usually to be sure that they have enough to eat. We talk all the time throughout the day and I show them how to cook sometimes and also let them help. My husband and I usually eat together and since he is gone while the kids are eating I wait for him and we either eat what the kids had or make some other simple meal or what ever is left. So I think that it can strengthen the family, but it really depends of the quality time thats spent as a whole.

I think it would be wonderful to still be able to do that. We work nights, seven days a week and it is hard to schedule dinners together but we do try.

Yes, I believe family dinners are important to having a close family. However, I don't think family members should be forced to sit at the table together for dinner. I think they should be brought up to look forward to spending time together so that when they're older, they'll enjoy doing so, and it'll be their choice. I'll explain... Growing up, I always had to have dinner with my family. We were brought up knowing that we had to eat at the table, and we had to eat when the rest of the family ate. It was an organized meal that everyone participated in. As my five siblings and I got older, however, you can probably imagine what happened...this sibling had practice, that sibling was babysitting, and so on. One meal for all family members at the same time became impossible. Instead of treasuring those moments we had when we could all eat dinner together, we dreaded it because then when all the siblings were at home, my parents would force us to all eat together. Family dinners were a put-on thing that no one wanted to participate in anymore because everyone had to participate whether they liked it or not, not because they wanted to and chose to. My point is that, while family dinners are good, a person should be brought up being close to their family so that when they're older, they'll still want to spend time with one another...it'll be their choice. When a person is forced to do something, they'll go the other way and not want to have anything to do with their family or family gatherings. I think family dinners in and of themselves are great. My family was always really close at those times when my siblings and I were all younger. I also think it's great for the family to spend time together around the table for a meal because it gives everyone a chance to share and tell everyone about their day. If someone had a bad day, they can tell everyone else about it. It gets it off their chest, which is a good thing. If Dad gets a promotion, he can tell everyone about it around the table. I think the main thing that is enhanced when the family gathers for dinner is communication. That open communication is key to having a close bond and have the enjoyment of spending time with family. Families who don't spend that quality time together communicating won't have the bond that the "family dinners" family will have. Excellent discussion!

I think so. Having dinner together is a great way to reunite the family and talk about each member's day. Also, if anyone have a problem, this way everyone of the family can help. I remember that when I was a kid and we all lived together, we used to lunch or dinner together. It was a great time!

My family is small. There is my partner and me. Our families live in other country. But we try to eat together at least one meal a day during week. If we travel to our native country family dinners are "must have".

Yes family at dinner meals together do strengthen ties. When we were younger, my parents always made it a point to have us all (children) at the dinner table together. We would all talk to our parents, our siblings about our daily lives. My parents made sure they'd talk to each of us and then we would discuss our plans together for some outings and such. These things were the binding force to our family. We're all grown up now and live separately. Work commitments make it harder for us to get together but we still make it a point to keep in touch and to meet up every other weekend or so.