As a high school teacher, I have had many students tell me they never eat sit down and eat dinner or any other meal with their parents, all together at a table. Everyone gets their food and goes to their rooms or other places. They think ‘family style’ eating is for special times, like Thanksgiving or Christmas.

Some parents nowadays don’t even do meals, even. They just keep food around (mostly snack/junk food and microwaveable stuff) and expect their kids to just make themselves something when they’re hungry. A common ‘meal’ for some kids is a bag of hot cheetos and easy mac. A bag of microwavable popcorn and bowl of ramen noodles.

I am of the GenX generation and lord knows the Boomers and Silents who raised us did a lot of terrible parenting, but regarding this, they did it right. If you’re home together, you eat meals together. You sit and talk together and have that bonding and family time. Unfortunately I have seen pushback on this idea, some people say in response that we’re overlooking or disregarding the fact that some parents have to work a lot so simply cannot be home with their kids much, and/or don’t have time or money to make nurtritious meals. To be clear, I’m talking about families where they are all home at the same time for at least one meal. And they still don’t eat together. At the table.

My husband and I were young parents, broke parents and we had years of working opposite shifts so that someone was always home with the kid. Years when one or both of us worked multiple jobs, or worked while going to college part-time, full-time, etc. So I understand when parents have to work crazy shifts and stuff to provide for their children. But whichever parent was home ate at the table with the kids. And when we both were at home, we ate at the table with the kids. Family meals are very important for kids, sitting and talking with parents while sharing a meal is bonding for kids.

It really hurts my heart that many kids don’t get this. For me as a mother, I can’t understand being in the house and instead of me making a decent meal and we sit down togeth