The American View of Focusing on Their Family

The American family has deteriorated dramatically in the last 50 years. A family dinner has been reserved for those large holiday gatherings as opposed to an every night meal. How many families actually prepare a fresh, home cooked meal and sit down around the table to enjoy their dinner and discuss the events of their day? How many families quickly "nuke" something and see each other only in passing through the kitchen? The gathering place, the kitchen in most homes, for parties seems almost abandoned in our daily routine. Most people race through the day and get home and want to pop something into the microwave because it's quick and convenient. Stop!

Families are moving farther and farther apart as each year passes. Bring your family back together around the dinner table, and in the kitchen for that matter. Children love to learn, especially when it's fun and they get to physically participate. Take them into the kitchen and teach them how to make a freshly prepared, healthy family dinner while enjoying time with them.

Making a fresh homemade meal seems like a long process for most people. For those of you who believe you can't make the time to prepare a fresh meal with your children apparently haven't heard of Rachel Ray, who can prepare a meal in under 30 minutes. Rachel Ray has some wonderful recipes that allow you to prepare a fresh homemade meal quickly. One of my children's favorites from Rachel is her Shepard's Pie, which they love to make without any help from me. They also love the Chili Cheese Dogs, go figure, and Summer Succotash dinner. On the nights we are running a little behind Rachel's rapid ways help us get to the table a little more quickly while still having a homecooked meal.

On the days when you aren't rushing from work to soccer practice or martial arts class or dance lessons take that extra time and spend with your children, preparing something in the kitchen. Make dinner fun. Have the children plan out the menu a couple nights a week. Give them a cookbook and let them flip through it and find things they want to try. Have an experimental dinner night each week and try something new and different. I found a truly scrumptious recipe for a violet cake with candied violets on it. Expand their horizons, and yours. There are so many delightful herbs and spices you can incorporate into your meals that only add to the taste. Don't limit yourself to what your mother used.

And if the wee ones want chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, show them how to make it at home, from ingredients that don't come from a package. I get high praise when I present my family with a plate of homemade chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese made fresh with real cheese and milk. The children love the fact that we don't have to go to a drive thru to have most children's favorite meal!

My daughter, age 11, makes a spaghetti and meatball dinner all on her own using my recipe with a special ingredient that only she and I know. My son, age 8, loves to help make the salad and bread to go with his sister's spaghetti. Then we gather around the family dinner table and enjoy a meal together sharing the events of our day. This entire dinner, from preparation to clean up takes around two hours. Those are the best two hours I spend all day long. We laugh, we talk, we share stories all over a meal prepared completely by the children, who shine with pride when they are told how well they have done. This is what a family dinner should be.

Most children will jump at the chance to "help" you cook a meal. Imagine the delight on their faces when you ask them to prepare a dinner for the family. Now think ahead to when the wee ones are grown and leave home. You have armed them with the knowledge they need to be able to feed themselves and not have to rely on fast food. You have also shown them a wonderful way to spend time with their children, passing this incredible experience and knowledge on to yet another generation.

Bring the family back together, around the dinner table and in the kitchen.