Let’s talk about dinner time here for a minute. In my opinion this is one of the most important times of the day for families and parents in particular. There are a few reasons why dinner is time is so important so let’s tick them down.

1) Dinner time is probably the only time of the day where the entire family will be together in one place as a unit. This is important because it instills all family members with a feeling of unity as a family.

2) Dinner time is that time of day where the family gets together and discusses how their day went. What was good, what was bad and what any other member of the family might need to know about current or future affairs in each others lives.

3) Dinner time is the one meal where you can make sure that everyone in your family eats a healthy meal, instead of something fast from a drive-thru window. That is how most people I know eat lunch,

4) Dinner time is that time of the day where you can slow down and take a step back from all of the stress that usually encompasses a hectic day and relax. It is nice to take a deep breath and get a little perspective on the events of your day.

Of course in my home there are a few rules for dinner time that help it to go smoothly and comfortably at least for me. Let’s take a look at those rules.

1) Dinner time is everyone’s time so everyone needs to be at the table on time. This is a good habit to get into and helps with the whole responsibility thing.

2) No cell phones, laptops, or other distractions at the table. Everyone is there to eat and catch up with everybody else about their day. Any phone calls, instant messages, or chapters in the kid’s school books can wait till dinner is over.

3) Everyone eats everything on their plate’s mom and I are not short order cooks. Besides mom and I are awesome cooks so there should be none of this EWWWW I don’t like this, because we know what our family likes to eat.

4) No one is excused from the table until everyone else is finished eating. The reason for this is that it is rude. This rule also includes no bad table manners, but those are usually decided upon by each individual family.

This is how we make dinner time a successful event in our home, and for us it is very rare to miss a homemade dinner, because we seldom eat fast food. I think if more families tried out this kind of meal plan there would a lot more family values instilled within a family and its future generations. I hope this post helps all of you readers out, and I hope you all have a glorious St Patrick’s Day.