4 Ways to Bring Your Family Together at Dinner Time
Sometimes it can be difficult to find times in the day where all members of the family are together, in one space enjoying each other’s company. Dinner time, therefore should be a staple time of the day when the family join together to share dinner and stories about their day. If you are struggling to get all your family together to enjoy being sociable and staying connected, then read on for the top four ways that you can bring your family together in the evening, every evening.
Team Effort for Menu Planning
Children can often turn their nose up at the culinary fruits of our kitchen labour and this can be demotivating for parents and can mean that dinner time can be wrought with tension and difficulties. To avoid this problem why not get your children involved in planning the meals for the week ahead. Asking your children for their input will not only mean that you are more likely to be creating meals that they will enjoy but it will also allow them to feel more interested as they have made a contribution to the planning of the meals put out in front of them.
Revamp Your Dining Room
Creating a space that all the family enjoy spending time in is one of the best ways that you can encourage your family to spend more time together in the evening. Tired and shabby looking dining rooms mean that generally it is a space that will have the kids bolting as soon as their plates have been cleared. Look into ways you can create a more modern, bling dining room space that all the family can enjoy. Look at design features and lighting that will make the room look inviting, cosy and chic. Make sure that you also look at furniture that is not just aesthetically pleasing but that is also comfortable and practical. That way your family will want to spend more time in this space enjoying time together over dinner.
Visually Stimulating Meals
We have created meals that can look rather bleak and lacking in flair and colour and we have learnt from experience that they don’t go down very well with our children. Scientific research has revealed that children react more positively to things that are colourful and that also applies to the food that we put out in front of them. As children are much more willing to try food that is bright in colour try integrating more colourful foods into your weekly meals, such as colourful peppers and bright fruits.
Little Kitchen Assistants
As with the meal planning getting your children involved in the preparation and cooking of evening meals can get them more excited about sitting down and sharing that food, together as a family. Therefore try to get your children excited about cookery by assisting you in the kitchen. Start with something fun like baking and then work them up to the more everyday things, such as mashing up potatoes or avocados, or helping you to prepare salads. Not only should this peak their interest in food and cookery but it will also give you an extra pair of hands, or two in the kitchen, so everyone’s happy.
