By Leland Pulley
In recent years there has been a trend in eating meals. Families are doing less cooking of their own meals. They are eating less meals together in their own home. Some of this is due to the convenience of fast foods of various types that have become so readily available. Also, people are more in a hurry and seem to eat more on the run. Finally, family size is smaller, which encourages less cooking of meals at home to save money. There are some aspects of this eating trend which I would like to comment on in this article.
Let me begin with my own childhood. I was raised in a family of two parents and four children. We lived in a small town of 6,000 people, which was surrounded by many farms of various types. My father worked outside of the home and my mother was a full-time homemaker. I lived in this environment until I left home for college in Seattle, Washington.
My childhood and adolescence were filled with many wonderful experiences that helped to shape me as an individual. But family meals is the experience I would like to focus on.
While growing up, my family and I would eat all of our meals at home. On rare occasions there would be a dinner at the church, or we would eat at the home of another family. Sometimes I would be able to eat at the home of a friend. During school days we kids would either take a paper bag lunch from home, or eat the hot meal served at the school. By the way, this hot meal had only one menu for everyone.
Although I did not fully appreciate the importance of family meals while growing up, I can certainly look back and see their importance today. In my parent’s home you could depend on everyone sitting around the table at dinner time and enjoying a good meal together. My mother was a good cook and learned to please us with her food. We had many good conversations together about a variety of topics. My father introduced many adult things to us through such discussions.
The small town we lived in had one restaurant operated by a Chinese family and it offered good Chinese food along with some American dishes. A Dairy Queen came to town, but it offered only ice cream products. There was a small café on the state highway that ran through our town. When I was in high school, a young adult started the first true hamburger stand in our town. As you can see from this description, very few people spent money eating out.
Another reason for eating at home versus eating out was so many women were homemakers and accepted responsibility to shop for food and prepare it for their families.
After leaving home and attending the University, I lived in a men=s dormitory=s initially. Then I went into an apartment with roommates. My senior year I and seven other boarders lived with a young couple who had a five-bedroom home. We ate our meals together in this home and these were prepared by the wife. Even in Seattle, I ate most meals at home even though there were now more restaurants available and fast food was becoming popular.
When my wife and I got married and began to have children, we established a pattern of eating family meals at home just like each of us had been raised. We and our kids all ate the same food. Now however we would sometimes have pizza or eat at a fast food place. As a family we had many discussions around the dinner table.
Today my grandchildren are seeing even more changes relative to family life and meals. Smaller families have become the norm. In many homes both parents are working. Family members are involved in more activities outside the home. Different schedules for work and activities can make it harder to eat together consistently. People seem willing to spend more money eating outside of the home. To accommodate them, several fast food chains have developed and spread throughout the country. There are also a large variety of restaurants serving different types of foods in every city and medium-size town. Fast food places, restaurants, and food stores offer take out so customers can buy food prepared by others and eat it on the go or take it home to eat there.
Eating out as well as at home has become an integral part of modern-day living. It usually costs more money to eat this way than to eat primarily at home. You could debate the health value of meals outside the home versus meals prepared in the home. You could also consider the time involved. Some people are even concerned now about eating only natural foods. Excuse me for making a simple comparison, but my family was eating primarily these natural types of foods in our farm community back in the 1950’s. There was more food produced by local farmers for people in their region, and less food was imported from abroad. There was more home canning and food storage by families. You could buy a quarter or half of beef and store this meat in your freezer. It would last many months depending on how much beef you bought and the size of your family.
But the real issue is simply this. Family meals involve more than quality food, promoting good health, and saving money. They should start with a blessing on the food. They give family members a chance to interact on a regular basis. Through daily conversations family members stay in tune with one another. Family meals promote communication and understanding. There is bonding which leads to stronger relationships. Learning takes place. Parents have the opportunity to teach their children, as well as one another. Because of the home setting for family meals, it is easy to control the environment in order to produce a wholesome and even spiritual atmosphere. Private matters can be discussed openly. Family decisions can be made. Good memories can easily be produced at the family dinner table. Imagine trying to do some of the same worthwhile things at McDonald=s or perhaps at a public restaurant. It is not the same experience.
Many things have changed since I was a child, but family life is still important and so is eating together. I challenge you to look at the meal patterns in your family and consider how they can better serve your needs. Eat as many family meals together as you can in order to promote good health and strong relationships. Utilize this precious time together in the best ways you can. Over the years you will see the wisdom of this council for yourself and your children.
Key Words – home, cooking, homemaker, family meals, good conversations, smaller families, different schedules, health, natural foods, saving money, communication, understanding, stronger relationships, learning, good memories
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