• Shop
    • Made to Give Life Planner
    • Bible Reading Plans
    • Your Intentional Family Homeschool Planning Guide
    • Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum for Toddlers
  • Resources
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Mission Statement
    • Goal Action Plans
    • 2022 Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge
    • Bible Reading Plans
    • Monthly Checklists
    • Deals and Freebies for Christian Women
  • About
  • 2022 Planner
  • SHOP
  • Search
  • Menu
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Intentional By Grace

Made to give life.

  • Shop
    • Made to Give Life Planner
    • Bible Reading Plans
    • Your Intentional Family Homeschool Planning Guide
    • Fruit of the Spirit Curriculum for Toddlers
  • Resources
    • Podcast
    • Blog
    • Mission Statement
    • Goal Action Plans
    • 2022 Intentional By Grace Reading Challenge
    • Bible Reading Plans
    • Monthly Checklists
    • Deals and Freebies for Christian Women
  • About
  • 2022 Planner
  • SHOP
  • Search

Why Our Family Prepares, Eats, and Cleans Up Meals Together

importance of family meal times

As we enter the busy holiday season, it’s easy to let family time suffer. I know this is the time of year when I want to slow down. I want to enjoy my family and really focus on Christ. But with busyness of the season, it can be hard.

We have to be intentional to guard our family time. 

Family meal time is sacred for our family. Sometimes it is the only time of the day we actually sit down with one another without any distractions. As much as we can, we prepare, eat, and clean up meals together as a family.

7 Reasons Why Our Family Prepares, Eats, and Cleans Up Meals Together

1. Serve one another.

We are a family. We are a team. As we seek to grow in Christ and become more like Him, serving is one way we can daily die to self and love our neighbor (our family) well. We want our children to understand what it means to serve (Galatians 5:13), and what better way to start than in the kitchen with mom and dad?

2. Teach children to care for themselves independently. 

Eventually, we want our children (yes our boys!) to know how to cook for themselves. As we prepare meals together, they are learning the kitchen skills needed to be independent. I’d love for my little men to be able to bless their wives one day with a home cooked meal when she’s had a long day! Granted, I tell my boys they aren’t getting married, but I guess that’s not up to me. I’ll train them anyway, I suppose.

tot school-3

3. Learn the art of real food.

I’ve shared my journey into natural living with you. I want my boys to understand the reason we steward our health well, and for them to know what real food is and what it isn’t. By them joining us in preparing our meals, they learn to make good food choices as well as what it takes to run a real food kitchen.

4. Spend quality time together as a family.

Time together as a family, creating memories, is a gift from God. As we prepare, eat, and clean up meals together, we are strengthening our bond as family and growing in fellowship with one another. Nothing solidifies a relationship like serving together, doing life together, and time in the kitchen around food is wonderful time spent with our family.

5. Utilize real life learning opportunities.

As a homeschool family, the kitchen is a great school room. There are plenty of real life learning opportunities as we do life together in the kitchen.

tot school-3-5

Learning how to:

  • Cook good, wholesome foods
  • Properly wash the dishes
  • Be thorough in our tasks like cleaning up
  • Measure ingredients
  • Use a knife properly
  • Set a proper table
  • And more!

6. Instill good habits that will go beyond our home and into future generations.

It is our prayer that our children will have fond memories of family time in the kitchen. We hope and pray this is a time of laughter and fun, a highlight of our day together. Family meal time is a habit we hope they enjoy and will in turn impart to their families one day.

7. Learn joy in doing life together.

Family meals should be a joyful time. It is our goal to make it a time of laughter and fun. Therefore, our children will learn the joy of doing life together by preparing, eating, and cleaning up meals together.

Just as we implement family clean up time, we have chosen to implement full family involvement in preparing, eating, and cleaning up meals. This means the entire burden to prepare and clean up meals doesn’t always fall squarely on mom’s shoulders. She has help from some of her favorite people!

With each desire, we allow room for grace. Sometimes, Daddy gets home late and Mommy will shoo the boys out of the kitchen to play. Other times, Mommy hasn’t managed a shower all day so Daddy cooks while Mommy sneaks away. Then there are times we just don’t feel like cooking and get carry out. Grace!

However, our ultimate goal in family meals is to prepare, eat, and clean up together to cultivate a life of servitude and joy as a family. During the busy holiday season, especially, we work hard to slow down around meal times so we can spend quality time together as a family.

What about you? Do you implement family meal times together?

Share
Pin2
Tweet
2 Shares

Filed Under: Motherhood

About Leigh Ann Dutton

Leigh Ann Dutton is the wife to the man of her prayers, Mark, and mama to four loveable little cherubs. She takes joy in spending her days creating memorable moments with her family, studying God's Word, reading good books, and enjoying God's creation. She does it all by the grace of God.

Previous Post: «great goodnight moon activities Before Five in a Row: Goodnight Moon
Next Post: When the Church Lets You Down: Remember God Isn’t Finished Yet when the church lets you down»

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Leah

    November 18, 2013 at 11:31 am

    We love the idea of family meal time but we often let that ideal slip to the side for other things like laziness, convenience, busyness. We are working on it though! I never really thought to include the kids in clean up after dinner. That’s such a great idea!!!

    • Leigh Ann

      November 18, 2013 at 4:08 pm

      I totally understand. That’s why I put in the grace paragraph. Sometimes it’s hard. Really hard.

  2. Mary Beth

    November 18, 2013 at 3:19 pm

    Thomas LOVES to sit on the counter to watch and help us cook. He’s done it pretty much since he could sit up!

    • Leigh Ann

      November 18, 2013 at 4:07 pm

      That’s great! Sam is the same way!

  3. Jelli

    November 18, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    I think it’s great that you integrate your kids into meal prep and cleanup. My little girl loves making food with me, mostly baked goods- measuring flour, stirring, etc. We always make meals together as a family a priority and ask guests to follow suit i.e. no techie devices at the table and such. Thanks for the inspiration, Leigh Ann. Pinned.

    • Leigh Ann

      November 18, 2013 at 7:16 pm

      It’s the techie devices at the table that can be really hard. Sometimes it’s the only time the kids are quiet so I can get anything done. I have to work really hard to not make it a happen to check email, FB, etc.

  4. Victoria @ Creative Home Keeper

    November 18, 2013 at 7:28 pm

    Thanks for these tips and reminders. I need to be doing a better job getting my 2 1/2 year old involved. Sometimes it is just easier to do it myself, but I need to remember that is not teaching him anything except that he doesn’t have to clean up after himself.

    • Leigh Ann

      November 18, 2013 at 8:20 pm

      I totally get that it’s easier to do it yourself. I have to remind myself that training him now well make him actually helpful sooner. 🙂

  5. Lynda Olsen

    December 15, 2013 at 9:50 am

    When I was growing up, dinner was a big deal. I remember my mom making us stay at the table for 1 hour. I may not have appreciated it back then, but I sure do now!

    • Leigh Ann

      December 16, 2013 at 6:46 am

      So true! It’s amazing what we find we appreciate when “grow up.” 🙂

  6. emily

    December 19, 2014 at 3:02 pm

    This list is so encouraging! I loved it from the first point. It was a great reminder to me…that meal time is about serving my family, not just a chore. I needed that encouragement!

    All the studies show why eating as a family is important. I love how your list includes preparing and cleaning. So many wonderful lessons to learn and memories to make!

Trackbacks

  1. Kitchen Tasks for a 3 Year Old - Intentional By Grace says:
    February 26, 2014 at 5:00 am

    […] love to be in the kitchen with Mommy and Daddy. I’ve shared before that we prepare, eat, and clean up meals together as a family. The kitchen is a gathering place for our family, and even though it can take more time to include […]

  2. Creating a Time Budget for Better Time Management - Intentional By Grace says:
    March 13, 2014 at 9:36 am

    […] Preparing, eating, and cleaning up from meals together is important to my family. We sit down around the table three times a day. We consider this such a blessing in this season of life. Therefore, I allotted 3.5 hours of my day to preparing, eating, and cleaning up from meals. […]

  3. 3 Ways I Used the Duck® Brand Shelf Liner to Organize My Kitchen - Intentional By Grace says:
    June 19, 2014 at 5:00 am

    […] prepare, eat, and clean up meals together, share family devotions, extend hospitality, enjoy impromptu dance parties, and so much more in our […]

  4. Summer Literacy Activities for Toddlers {Day 14} says:
    June 26, 2014 at 7:16 am

    […] in the kitchen with us lends itself to many, many learning opportunities. You’re not only teaching them about health and nutrition, but you can count and read ingredients and create lots of memories […]

  5. 10 Tips for Eating Out with Small Children {and Enjoying the Meal!} - Intentional By Grace says:
    March 26, 2015 at 5:00 am

    […] sitting down together to eat meals together at home is often cited as one of the most important things a family can do together. For the […]

  6. 10 Ways to Include Toddlers and Preschoolers in the Garden - Keeper of the Home says:
    April 23, 2015 at 11:59 am

    […] already prepare, eat, and clean up each meal together; therefore, extending our work into our backyard has made the work inside even more […]

  7. 5 Tips for Including Young Children in the Kitchen {while still staying productive!} - Intentional By Grace says:
    April 28, 2015 at 6:00 am

    […] a young age. If you want to read more about the benefits of getting kids in the kitchen, check out this great post by Leigh Ann, or find more information here, here, and […]

  8. A Grace-Filled Look at Real Food - Intentional By Grace says:
    May 20, 2015 at 3:23 pm

    […] too busy to enjoy good food. We’re too busy to linger over a meal, let alone prepare the meal as a family. We’re too busy to make more foods from scratch or even grow our own […]

  9. Homemaking Matters - Intentional By Grace says:
    January 25, 2016 at 9:22 am

    […] have been many sleepless nights and long days. There’s been too much take out and not enough family togetherness around the dinner table. There’s been fights and forgiveness, tears and laughter, joy and […]

  10. How to Meal Plan the Easy Way - The Ultimate Guide to Seasonal Meal Planning - Intentional By Grace says:
    June 5, 2019 at 10:58 am

    […] Promote family togetherness, […]

Primary Sidebar

Get Inspired

Free Resources

Free Printable Topical Bible Reading Plans

Search the Site

Browse the Archives

Get Social

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

IBG

About

Contact

Subscribe

Advertise   |   Disclosure Policy   |   Privacy Policy   |