Does your family have dinner time rules about technology? We have some basic rules and they serve us very well! Oh and by the way, here are 5 times it’s okay for your child to go hungry.
It’s so important our children feel connected to us at mealtimes. Research shows eating with family is one of the biggest ways to avoid obesity. Why? Not sure, but there you have it.
Here’s how we manage to go dark for dinner in a world where it’s nearly impossible to escape screens.
1. Distance yourself
If it’s too tempting to not check your notifications or answer the dings and rings, then put the phone somewhere else. It’s very unlikely an actual emergency will occur during dinner hours and anyway, dinner doesn’t last very long. I usually keep my phone in a completely different room along with all tablets and laptops. Obviously the TV is off. Out of sight, out of mind.
2. Make a commitment
I usually have a lot of ideas in our family. Let’s do this! Let’s do that! We should stop doing this, etc. My husband will generally go along with my parenting suggestions unless he has a conviction otherwise, but the way we stick to things is to commit. Then, if one of us slips up we’ll be able to remind each other without nagging. Why? Because we both agreed together. We are very clear we don’t want our kids to always see us with our phones in front of our faces, particularly at meals, so we’ve agreed together.
3. Start traditions
It’s easy to go dark at dinnertime if you are actually enjoying dinner with your family. We have a song that we sing each night for prayer that involves clapping. It’s silly, but we love it. My husband sang it growing up so it’s even sentimental! You can go around the table asking specific questions (here are 50 dinner time conversation starters), share about your day, or even do some type of reading together. The more engaged you are with what you’re doing, the less you’ll care about getting your social media fix.
4. Put it out of your mind
People often like to joke that men can compartmentalize and women think about everything at once. This is certainly true in our home. So much so that I often have to get a few things done pre-dinner so that I’m able to focus and put work out of my mind. When I’m organized it definitely works. I often give myself a pep talk and remind myself though the days are long, the years are short. I know it’s true and often just reminding myself of that is enough for me to forget about everything else but my lovely family before me.
This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Dixie. All opinions are 100% mine.
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