How was your day at school? These simple words at a dinner table can be an instant way for you to connect and open up more with your family. With technology and social media expanding rapidly that connection and empathy is suddenly lost.

Sitting at the dinner table with your family can have constructive effects. Many families get distracted by the latest trends, sports and social aspirations so it makes sitting at the dinner table more difficult. The dinner table is the most sacred part of the home so I feel as if it should be cherished and used more often. When you sit at the dinner table it is proven to increase your comprehension by forcing you to speak and engage in conversation more often. Engaging in conversation is a great way for you to actively become more social outside of the various Medias that surround your life.

When you sit at the dinner table you find out things about your family you did not know. This can be a very interesting way to connect with the sibling you hate because it forces you guys to come together as a union. When I was younger my mom and dad would argue a lot so I made a plan that all of us would sit at the dinner table and eat as a united family. I used to love dinner time because everyone was a open book and we would continually discuss problems and solutions. Now my family rarely eats together at the table they will all eat in different rooms and at different times. The result of us not eating together as one is very depressing because we lack the family connection we all once had.

The dinner table is proven to have impactful results. The dinner table is a topic that doctors and pediatricians study often. Most doctors suggest eating at the dinner table because they have found that kids and teens have a higher chance of choosing healthier food choices, show signs of less stress and tension, opens up a positive relationship with you and your child. "One of the simplest and most effective ways for parents to be engaged in their teens' lives is by having frequent family dinners," says Joseph Califano Jr., chairman and president of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA).

Engaging in your child’s life is a necessity. I feel as if you are not and active part of your child’s life then you are preparing them for the worst case scenario. Teens and children want positive attention from their parents because it enforces positive behavior onto the children. One way to give your child positive attention is to sit at the dinner table as a collective family. Many families have a no negativity rule in which they are only allowed to say positive things about one another or only point out positive things about their day. This allows us to find a common ground between your life and your child’s life.

Sitting at the dinner table is a very simple task and does not require much. Everyone’s favorite time of the day is when they are eating so why not enjoy that time as a family. Nothing is more memorable than enjoying quality time as a family together. The effects of coming together and eating as a family can result in long-term improvement for your child. Enforcing positive food connections to your child you are encouraging them to eat healthier. The dinner table can also enforce time-keeping skills by showing your child how to prepare for something in a given time frame.

The dinner table is sacred. Treat the dinner table as the temple of the home because it will open up a lot of doors for you physically and mentally. When you sit alone at dinner time you are doing nothing but enclosing yourself in a bubble which becomes extremely dull after a while. The next time dinner time comes around try to gather up all your family members and force them to sit at the dinner table you will not regret it.