Are You Home for Dinner

Did you know that the average sit down dinner lasts 22 minutes. This is a time that can be well spent says Home for Dinner author Anne Fishel.  She says that studies have shown that kids that eat dinner sitting down with the family have a better body, spirit and brain. They have better vocabulary, the are less likely to be obese the have less substance abuse and are less likely to engage in risky sexual behavior.

Fishel says that in order to have great family dinners we need to leave some subjects, and devices, off the table.  She suggests we don't focus on table manners or touchy subjects but make meals fun and have games to encourage discussion like asking kids to talk say 2 things one that is true and one that is a lie.  Or encouraging people to figure out how many people were involved in getting  the food to the table. This would include farmers, processors, and of course the cook. " We want to encourage kids to waste less food and to think about where their food is coming from " she said.

Perhaps we all need to spend more time thinking about where our food is coming from and growing a new generation that is concerned about others.