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Absurd advice for parents with school children . . .

. . . courtesy of Parents.com.

I'm all for sitting down and eating as a family.  We do it in my house every single night.  The oldest person home, whether 55, or 30, or 16, is expected to have dinner on the table, and everyone in the house will sit down and discuss their day.

In that I am in complete agreement with this article:

Families who chow together bond better than those who eat at separate times and spaces. Sitting around the table -- or even just grating carrots in the kitchen -- encourages kids and parents to relax and share what's on their mind (keep the TV off!). The benefits of this quality mealtime are long-lasting: Kids from families who dine together frequently are 31 percent less likely to smoke, drink, or do drugs later on as teenagers, according to a study of 2,000 youngsters by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
However, this next part threw me for a loop:

If your schedule doesn't allow for family dinners as often as you'd like, consider bonding over breakfast. The Geddes family of New York City manages to have dinner together a few nights a week, but they make sure to sit down to eat every morning. "Sure, it can be hectic," says Jennifer Geddes, mother of two girls, ages 18 months and 4 years, "but we count on that time together before we go our separate ways."
Obviously Jennifer does not know what's in store for her when the kids hit school.  Let's take a typical weekday morning at our household over the past year, and you tell me when we get to have breakfast:

6:10 The twins out the door to catch the CSW bus.

6:34 The neice out the door to catch the Conrad bus.

7:05 The eldest daughter out the door to work.

7:55 The grandson out the door to catch the Linden Hill bus.

8:05 My wife and I out the door to work.

Obviously, among its other many evils, the Red Clay School District wants to keep families from having breakfast together by staggering bus schedules.

What, oh, really?  Happens everywhere?

Somebody should tell Parents.com

Comments

Anonymous said…
Many kids play sports or have other activities that start and run right through dinner time, especially if it is more than a ten minute drive to practice or game.
My family has breakfast together more often than we have dinner.
No drug addicts yet so maybe it doesn't matter which meal.
Or no meal at all, just family time together at some point in the day.
TV isn't always the devil either.
My family loves to watch Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy together. The kids love figuring out the answers and are super excited when they know an answer on Jeopardy.
I guess one familys absurdity is another familys meal time together
April 22, 2012 at 1:55 PM
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