I grew up in my grandparents home. Both my parents worked, my mom in a five and dime and my dad had three jobs before Obola made it fashionable. Home duties were distributed: my grand mother cooked, my mother kept the home, my grandad and dad with my help did the maintenance and tended our large garden. We had dinner promptly at six each night: no TV on, no phone interruptions all around a dinner table. Most saturdays I went with my mom as she visited her mother and her siblings. Sunday we had dinner promptly at one after church usually with my dad’s brother and wife present: no tv, no phone interruptions. If we had no guests that sunday we went to visit my grand parents siblings for the afternoon. The rest of the time I was free to roam as I wanted with the previso be home for dinner at 6. I had some chores, not paid but a family committment, one of which was tending the coal furnace in winter. If not banked before bed, it was very cold in the AM and it was not pleasant for me. Morning tending meant removing the ashes and getting them into the garden. Frankly, they were the happiest days of my life! There were no drug, truency, or gang problems. My family and all those in the neighborhood which were similar minded were God fearing church going US patriots and the world was better for it.
We still do dinner ever night around the table with no TV, etc even though I only have one kid at home. It was a good thing for my kids when they were growing up. We used to get out the encyclopedia and play name the state capitals or what language is spoken in this country games when the kids were in elementary school. Made dinners fun. And Grandpa loved to tell stories about what life was like when he was the kids’ ages. They loved to hear about the alternative uses for the Sears Catalogue LOL
And as long as my dad was alive, Sunday dinner was promptly at 1PM after church. After he passed, I started doing Sunday dinners between 4-5PM because that’s when I was hungry :-)
Family dinner is so important to maintaining the health, and not just physical health, of a family.