Much is learned about successful negotiation through the process of committing to eat together. The negotiation to have family dinners is a worthwhile struggle, and sets the stage for us to value our family relationships, rather than take them for granted. Consistently having dinner together as a family also keeps us in touch, allowing us to trouble-shoot problems in daily living as well as keeping us abreast of our family members' activities and life experience. Agitation, irritability and other down moods and the events that are associated with them can be shared. We feel less alone in the world when we know there are people who love and care about us, no matter what we are going through.
Children also learn about themselves in the context of their families.
Dinners may provide opportunity for discussion time. Some families make a habit of using family dinners to check in with youngsters and each other about their day, or talk about local incidents, world news and current events. It is in the family group that we develop an ability to discuss, to express our opinions, to be ourselves and allow others to be themselves. We can teach our children that their feelings and views matter and have a place, along with others in the group. The family is a formative group, which provides our children the backdrop they will rely on to become integrated members of all future groups they encounter.