Ashok Sharma
Man is a social animal.He wants to eat and live in groups and families.Over the period of time,man developed new recipes of food which became a part of our culture and heritage.We,in India too have a cuisine which is as old as our civilization.There used to be a time when life was not so fast.People would wake up early in the morning and work hard in the fields throughout the day.Sometimes,they would take their lunch in the fields,have rest and resume their work,especially during the sowing or harvest season.But one thing,they never missed and that was the family dinner.All the members of the family would wash their hands, sit down in the kitchen for family dinner, eat the food,share their experiences for a pretty long time and then go to sleep to begin their next day.In this way,they fostered their bonds of oneness and warmth.Now the times have changed and the tradition of taking dinners together is fast vanishing.People are so much busy in their life,phones, television,work etc.that they don’t have time to sit together for the family dinners.It is the age of fast food and fast food restaurants have mushroomed in every nook and corner of big and small cities.Most of the people prefer to take their dinners in hotels or restaurants.Even if they take dinners at home,it is not a family dinner.The children usually take their dinner at their own time while watching TV or working on the computer while the elders will take dinners separately. Thus,there is little conversation over the day’s happenings at the dining table.But people must remember that in doing so,they are depriving themselves of the multiple benefits of having dinner together. Family dinners have been linked to a lower risk of smoking,drinking and obesity,besides eating disorders.Having dinner together as a family provides the opportunity for meaningful conversation and lets parents teach the children develop manners and social skills and guide them how to listen and express their opinions and thus,allows them to to have an active voice within the family.This useful tradition has a positive impact on their values,motivation and self esteem and such children grow into healthy and confident adults and carry on such healthy eating habits throughout their life.Meaningful conversation at the dinner table helps in expanding the vocabulary of the children and affords opportunities to each and every member to discuss his/ her day and share exciting experiences with others.Thus,family dinners help a lot in learning from eachother by sharing information and fostering bonds of warmth and love and developing a sense of security and belongingness among different members of the family.
Cooking food at home also helps a lot in saving money and fulfilling the nutritional requirements of the family. The mothers ought to ensure that the children are provided nutritional meals containing more fruits,vegetables,milk products to develop their health.They should also try new foods and recipes including those from the other countries and cultures.The children and other members of the family should be actively involved in planning and cooking food in order to develop a sense of togetherness.Mothers also ought to know the favourite food of the different members of their families,especially children and cook them on rotational basis to sustain their interest in the home cooked food.While eating food together,television,mobile phones,radio etc should be turned off and family should concentrate on taking meals only.The children should be encouraged to participate in the positive conversation in an active manner and their views should be valued by the elder members.
But it is sad that this useful tradition is fast vanishing,especially in big cities due to the crumbling of joint family system, hectic life ,involvement of children/youth in social media and TV and diminishing moral values in the society.People these days,especially the young children prefer to take their dinners in hotels and fast food restaurants rather at home.Even when they take their meals at home,it is a rare sight to see all the members of family taking meals together.The children often prefer to take their meals in front of television or they have the habit of browsing their smart/mobile phones while eating food.For those who are away from home for work, there are thousands of Dabbawallas or delivery people crisscrossing metropolitan cities on their bikes bringing tiffin boxes to hungry workers in big cities.Perhaps these workers may be craving for home made food,which they can’t have in view of their place of work being far away from home.On the contrary,those living at home often don’t realise how important family dinners are.Thus,it is time to bring the ‘family’ back to the dining table.Sharing dinner together gives every member a sense of identity and belongingness and helps in easing day to day tensions and conflicts, establishes healthy traditions and fosters strong bonds of warmth and love which can last for a lifetime,keep the family together and prevent such unfortunate incidents as suicides.
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