What do you do when you eat dinner? Do you eat on the run? Do you sit down as a family? Do you eat in front of the television?
Do you connect on any level with the others in your family through the week?

Become part of your family!
Did you know that very few people sit down to a meal with their families on regular basis? That only one or two nights a week are spent sitting with each other? if that?
There are so many reasons to make the time to sit down with your family for dinner.

Our families can be a caring place!
When my brother and I were in high school I don't remember having dinner with my parents. We would eat and go out and my parents would still be sitting in the kitchen drinking. We never had that time that you could sit and chat about each other's day, where you could bring up something that happened and ask for advice.
So what is the big deal?
To be a family is to be with each other, to help, to laugh, to love.
Does this sound like a pipe dream? Well it can be a reality.
What if you think of this time as a time to connect with your family, talking about your day, feeling like a part of something? How about the sense that someone cares about you? Yes - these things can come from having dinner with your family.

Get to know each other!
As a parent, it is a great time to connect with your teens, talk to them, get to know them, it doesn't have to be a struggle with them. Show them love by spending time and listening to them.
If you are a teenager, become part of your family, connect, talk to each other, feel this part of your life, believe it or not your parents can be great sources of helpful information in regards to problems you want to discuss.

Connect!
Now this is not a miracle cure for anything, but it is a step that takes little effort. It goes miles in keeping your family relationships together. Even if you are at odds with each other, it is a great place to start. you will feel like part of a family. Though it can be tough and it can take time, keep going with it, it will be worth it.
To cut yourself off, to be alone when you have family, holds repercussions you cannot even begin to imagine as you grow older. Your self-esteem suffers, you feel alone, uncared for. This filters into all your relationships, leaving you lost.

Family can help you cope!
To be truly part of something, to belong, is something that touches your heart, builds love for yourself and the others in your family.
Some of the best moments we can share as our kids age are the times when we sit around at dinner for a couple of hours and talk about what is going on in the world and with each other.
It brings me great happiness just to spend time with my family around the dinner table.
It is important for everyone's sake. Sit down, have dinner with each other, talk, belong. Connect.