For many busy families, sitting down to eat dinner together each night simply isn’t possible. However, one thing that might be making this less possible is the way in which you’ve set up your dining room and the feelings you’ve, either consciously or unconsciously, put around spending time in the dining room.
In many cases, people tend to only want to use their dining room for formal dinners or holidays. But when you do this, you may unintentionally be missing out on the daily opportunities to come together with your family and share a meal with one another.
To start fixing this, here are three tips for making your dining room a place where your family wants to eat together.
Start Slowly With The Habit
If you currently only eat meals in your dining room when you have guests over or it’s a holiday, it likely won’t work to start trying to eat dinner there every day. Rather, you should try to start slowly in making this habit.
At first, try to just have dinner all together in your dining room once a week. Then, as this becomes something that happens more and more often, try to add another day or two as your schedules allow. By doing this, you will be making a big difference in the lives of your kids.
Get Dining Furniture You Want To Use
Something else that might be making it hard for you and your family to want to use your dining room is if the furniture in this space isn’t appealing to everyone.
To remedy this, try to get some dining furniture that you all want to use. This might include putting a beautiful tablecloth on the table, reupholstering the seats that you’re using, or adding a chandelier that everyone loves to look at while they eat. If your family wants to spend time using the furniture in this space, there’s a much better chance that you’ll try to make family meals work.
Make The Dining Process Something Your Kids Look Forward To
Eating together can be more than just sitting down and filling your bellies. It can also be about making food together, learning how to take on new responsibilities, serving your family, and more.
To encourage your kids to become more involved in the dining process, try to think of things you can do to make this something to look forward to. They might enjoy learning how to cook with you, being in charge of setting or clearing the table, or being asked to share something funny about their day with the rest of the family.
If you want to make your dining room a place where your family loves to gather together, consider using the tips mentioned above to help make this happen in your home.
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