Eating supper together as a family is a tradition that unfortunately has become less and less common. Families used to eat meals together almost every day, whereas today one would be hard-pressed to find families that sat down and ate a home cooked meal together more than once or twice a week. Eating supper at a table as a family is a practice that should be more common, even with everyone's hectic schedules that modern life grants us.

Sharing a meal together at a table (not on the couch in front of a TV) is a great way to reaffirm bonds between loved ones. Sitting down together, face to face, allows for conversation and communication that the restlessness of everyday life can sometimes take away from us. It's important to put away the electronics for a while and focus your energy on the people around you; there is a lot to be learned from talking with real people, whether it be grandparents or baby siblings, since everyone collects new experiences and memories everyday. When my family eats a meal together, we often play a little game where we go around the table and share our high and low points of the day. It may sound a little cheesy, but it's a fun and simple way to hear a little about everyone's day and to get conversation going. Spending time with whoever you consider family can always be a rewarding experience if you chose to make it one, and can leave you feeling more confident and happy knowing there are people who care enough about you to spend an hour eating with you.

Sitting down at a table together fosters communication, which can help to refocus energies and to motivate you. Interacting face to face not only allows you to discuss your ideas, problems, or concerns to people who love and care about you, but also enables you to give feedback and support to those same people. Talking things out makes situations less stressful and unclouds ideas, promoting a sense of motivation and general positivity toward tasks ahead. It's also rewarding to talk about things you enjoyed doing or felt that you did well. An added bonus to all the talking is in the mouthfuls of grub being consumed while connecting with your family or friends.

Having a meal together, whether it be breakfast, lunch, or supper, is also beneficial because it means you aren't eating on the go. Eating a real meal instead of grabbing something quick is beneficial to your health because, generally, a home-cooked meal is much healthier than whatever choices you have to eat on the move. Eating together can also help develop your own food preparation and cooking skills, attributes that will come in handy your entire life. You can learn about classic family-favorite recipes or about a food you've never tried before. Helping in the kitchen is another great way to spend time with family members, and to learn or develop abilities relevant in daily life. Eating with family is beneficial for your healthy, both body and mind.

Sitting down and eating a meal together as a family is a very simple concept, with very substantial benefits. It's important to make time as often as possible, ideally at least once a week, to spend a relatively small amount of time with the people who care about and support you. Communicating in person with loved ones does wonders for your confidence, positivity toward challenges, and motivation to succeed or persevere (to name just a few benefits). Strengthening bonds and getting away from electronics adds to the beauty that is life.