Bring Back the Dinner Table - Stop Over Scheduling Teens

You’ve heard it said that our children are over scheduled, that they are busy every night of the week, that dinner table talk is gone. The blame for this happening can be passed around, but ultimately it rests squarely on the parents allowing it to happen.

It’s time to bring it back. You’re the parent. If all parents require their children to be home by 7pm at the latest for dinner and told the school system that you will not tolerate practice later than 6:30 pm on a school night they will have to listen.

Pick your children up at 6:30 and get them home eating dinner by 7pm. Dinner time is a very important part of a teenager’s development. Without learning how to sit at a table and eat dinner properly, they are not learning how to socialize with others during important dinner events; they are not learning how to make small talk, or how to eat a proper meal.

At dinner, talk about the days events. Ask them, “What did you learn today?” Give each of your children, no matter their age a chance to answer the question. You might be surprised at their answers. They do not always involve math and science. Sometimes it is something they learned during the day from a friend or a teacher that has nothing to do with academics.

One of my children one time told me, “Today I learned how to be a jerk.” Then went on to explain about how their teacher was behaving. I was happy that my child knew this was jerky behavior and would not be repeating it since she learned how it felt to be on the other side of this jerky behavior.

Do not allow one child to monopolies the conversation; make sure you control it so that each child and each adult gets to speak. Also, do not allow dinner discussions to become arguments. Everyone is allowed to say what he or she will, and each person is charged with being polite and learning to disagree in a polite manner. This is also not a time for parents to punish children. Not for bad grades, or to call them to task for something they have done. Dinnertime should be pleasant, worry free; a happy time regardless of what else is going on.