Select Page

I read this in the DaDs (Dads & Daighters) newsletter …

Can you pledge to have dinner with your family on September 25? That’s “Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children.”

My response …

Call me old fashioned, but who else’s family WOULD you be having dinner with?  The very idea that we need a special day to have a family eat a meal together is a testament to how REALLY bad things really must be out there.

When younger, my daughter never understood the sitting down to dinner thing as important because they didn’t really do that at her mom’s house.  And she thought that was alright — it doesn’t really mean anything, right?  Think again … “Breaking bread” in every culture since the beginning of mankind was the foundation of any social unit or group. 

I know people have schedule limitations and such, but if you ask me, a family that doesn’t have meals together somewhat regularly isn’t much of a family at all.  That’s the most basic thing you could possibly do together … unless you’d rather substitute the role of parent with a Soccer Mom and Disneyland Dad.  Cat in the Cradle, anyone?

And if I have to explain or defend the importance of this to anyone, there isn’t enough room on the Internet.  They’ll have to just trust me and find it out themselves.

Even if it’s the absolute bare minimum, such as Sunday brunch once a week, kids need to know it’s not optional — it’s sacrosanct.  No sporting events, no parties at someone else’s house, nothing.  Otherwise, they’ll be a friend’s birthday party every week or a once-in-a-lifetime get-together every couple of weeks.  And they will remember it later when they have kids and if they have any sense or character at all, they will cherish the value in it even if they were clueless and hated it at the time.

Quality time with your family should mean something.  Some of us would NEVER miss Friday afternoon golf, or Sunday services at church, or Monday night football.  We invest time and attention like clockwork for these things — Why can’t our families be that important?