The Importance of Having Dinner Together

Having dinner together as a family has numerous benefits for your child and her upbringing. Moreover, the activities that precede it, from cooking to setting the table, are great bonding opportunities. Osceola County Catholic Schools, the best Kissimmee schools, encourage your family to enjoy their meals in a meaningful gathering every single day! Learn why this sacred time with your child highlights family and the importance of being together.

Teaches Responsibility
By cooking together and setting the table, your child will pick up useful home and kitchen skills, which are important for her upbringing. Practicing these habits now will help her develop them for when she grows up and has her own family!

Encourages Healthy Eating
Preparing meals together as a family creates structure and helps plan out portions with an emphasis on healthier eating habits. Eating dinner together as a family has shown that children develop better eating habits by mostly consuming fruits and vegetables rather than junk food such as soda and fried foods. Studies have shown that children that eat at home with their families focus more on nutrition and have less body fat. Home cooking typically has fewer calories than restaurant meals. 

Building Better Relationships
Eating dinner as a family helps create a strong bond between you and your child. Use this time to catch up and ask how your child is doing, what’s new in their life, how school is going, and so forth, which shows that you care and support her. This helps boost her confidence and build on connections with her peers at school. Children do best with routine, which gives her a sense of belonging among her family and friends. 

Boosts Developmental Skills
Being together for meals gives your child a chance to use those communication skills that boost brain development. As you talk to her, her language skills are promoted. Additionally, she practices dexterity with the use of her utensils. 

Reduces Stress, Promotes Happiness
The bond that results from being together as a family can have a powerful impact on your child’s mental health. Showing her love and support as part of her routine will lead her to be emotionally strong, in addition to good manners. Watch not only her stress levels go down, but yours, too, as she finds joy in family meals!

Leads to Academic Success
Due to the nutritional benefits and mental boosts associated with eating together as a family, children are more likely to achieve academic success. There’s a link between family dinners and better grades. Keep up the family meals and your child is on her way to happiness and healthy habits in all aspects of her life!

Osceola County Catholic Schools, the best Kissimmee schools, foster an atmosphere of care and an environment of high expectations and effective discipline. To learn more about what makes us different, contact the Office of Catholic Schools at the Diocese of Orlando by calling 407-246-4800.