Let’s say grace – together

Let's Say Grace - Together

How many of us spend dinnertime interacting with our family members? I don’t think many of us do.

Since the evolution of mobile phones and the rise of the Internet, we have started paying less attention to our family members – even when they’re sitting just next to us.

During supper, we prefer to check the latest comment on our post on Facebook or watch our favourite daily soap – soaking in tears or laughing our hearts out – instead of sharing our day’s experience with our siblings and elders.

Doing so we enjoy ourselves, don’t we? Many of us feel keeping ourselves busy with electronic gadgets is the best way to relax. 

However, I don’t think it’s the best way to unwind. I prefer indulging in small talk at the dinner table waiting for the dinner to be served, and later praising the culinary skills of my mom or grandma. 

During the course of meal, we discuss a range of topics. These conversations help me to connect with our family and understand the world around me.  

I have noticed some parents set up their children in front of the television as a bribe for finishing their dinner. In my opinion, this is an unsavoury trend that parents need to avoid.

I wonder if the parents in question ponder the pros and cons of their action. Being a couch potato can have an adverse effect on children’s physical and emotional well-being.

On the contrary, when children spend time interacting with their parents, siblings and elders at the dinner table, it lifts their mood and brings about a lot of good behavioural and attitudinal changes. 

Light-hearted conversations at the dinner table boost children’s mental capabilities. They develop personality and even improve our vocabulary.

When the menu consists of delicious dishes and candid conversations – instead of a meal with free tickets to the “cartoon-world” – it can do wonders for physiological and emotional health of both parents and their kiddos.

However, children need to be respectful of their parents in order to get maximum benefits of dinnertime conversations. And, yes, parents should be engaging and supportive, rather than being intrusive, restrictive and judgemental.

So from now onwards, let’s gather at the dinner table and say grace – together.

(Published in The Gulf Today on September 24, 2016)