A question was posted on The MOB Society Facebook page about family mealtime:
“Our meal times with two little boys aren’t fun. We always seem to be correcting bad behavior, and they don’t seem to care or want to change. Do you have any tips for making meal time a happier, enjoyable time for all?”
Can I get a show of hands if this could be your question?
Did y’all see that? We just did the biggest football stadium wave as our MOB team raised hands across the country. Congrats, mamas. Now let’s huddle up and see if we can collectively tackle this question of a mealtime make-over.
I know you want a neat list of answers. I do, too! A top ten list of how to put the super back in supper. A how-to guide for fidgety boys with picky palates. And a fool-proof plan to ensure Mrs. Manners graduates our sons with high honors.
This issue requires more than a quick fix on Pinterest, (but by all means, please pin this!) 
We need a mealtime revolution!
We are training our boys to be warriors, right? We’re going to have to do battle. Mamas we have to fight for mealtimes. Dinner is so much more than a meal, it’s about feeding our boys soul food in addition to filling their bellies. Gathering at the dinner table is a time set apart for reconnecting as a family. In fact, the Hebrew word holy means set apart for a special purpose.
I don’t know about you, but holy isn’t the first word that comes to mind when I think of our family dinners. A couple of years ago, I got fed up. Our suppers were getting sloppy, and not just manners – attitudes! Sure we were eating dinner together every night, but we were flying through supper and skimping on gratitude. You can read my story here.
Based on the Facebook post, we are ready to tackle mealtimes as a team. Issues from manners and picky eaters to the heart and soul of breaking bread together at the family table. One of the things I love best about The MOB Society is the wisdom and encouragement of our community. Y’all are deep wells, friends.
How about another show of hands? Are you ready for a Mealtime Make-Over?
Let’s start by asking questions and share what’s working and what’s not at your dinner table in the comments. Then we’ll be back with more posts addressing common needs and sharing our own mealtime failures and successes.
In the meantime, here are some Mealtime Make-Over resources for you:
- Raising Hearty Boys. Brought to you by Raising Boys Media, the new website dedicated to keeping our boys fit and fed launches soon. The RHB community is a place for boy moms to find recipes, nutrition tips, and fitness ideas. I’m honored to be one of the RHB contributors and hope you’ll join us at the new site for raising boys who are strong in faith, mind, and body.
- The Family Dinner Cookbook: Great Ways To Connect with your Kids One Meal at a Time. Dinner is more than a meal. And The Family Dinner is definitely more than a cookbook. Full of inspiration, recipes, and easy-tips for meaningful mealtimes. I love this book and can only say. . .get it! (I feel a give-away coming on)
- A Meal with Jesus: Discovering Grace, Community, and Mission Around the Table. A powerful book about the Biblical context of meals in the context of mission and ministry. Through the lens of the Gospel of Luke, Dr. Tim Chester shares Jesus’ ministry of meals and how we can apply these to our own tables. (I feel another give-away coming on)
- 52 Sunday Suppers. I’ve teamed up with my neighbor and friend for a year-long journey to make our family meals more intentional. Join us each week as we dish up weekly menus, mealtime prayers, table talk, and inspiration for Sunday suppers.
Finally, the photo was inspired by a comment from one of our mamas on Facebook: Is it too much to expect an 8 year old boy to eat with his mouth closed?
You are not alone, friend. And, I have the napkins to prove it!
Let’s encourage one another. And start a mealtime revolution!
oh my word!! I feel like supper time is complete chaos every night! Looking forward to this!
Liz K´s last [type] ..All Things New Year’s
Liz – You are not alone, friend! Just this week, as I was preparing to write this post, we had one of *those* chaotic dinners. I literally threw my hands up and said, “Really, God? You want me to write this post after *this* dinner?”
Mercy.
It’s going to be good to learn from our good nights & our crazy ones.
Kristin´s last [type] ..Mealtime Make-Overs: Moms rally to take back the table!
Me too! With a hubby who didn’t grow up eating at the dinner table and two picky eaters (one also being the hubby), our supper time is a disaster! Can’t wait for all the great tips!
Megan – I love that you mention your husband didn’t grow up eating dinner at the table. You are definitely NOT alone. And, what a blessing to be able to make this a tradition for your family. Don’t get discouraged…I think like most fruitful things in life we may not see immediate results. I try to keep the long view in mind when it comes to family suppers. In 20 years, our children won’t remember the night brother burped and sister spilt the milk (well, maybe), they’ll remember that their family had meals together.
Kristin´s last [type] ..Mealtime Make-Overs: Moms rally to take back the table!
Our family starts each meal with each of the children offering a prayer and then one by Daddy. No one touches their food until Daddy’s “amen” is said. This is helping to teach patience and resists the selfish grabbing and stuffing mouths in undignified ways. We also hide a star sticker on the bottom of one random plate and that person is the “guest of honor” for the night – he gets the first serving, the first choice, the fancy gold-starred wine glass to drink from, and if there is dessert, then he gets the first piece. (We do this even when we have guests and it’s so fun when THEY get to be “guest of honor”!) At the end of each meal we review our scripture memory verses one at a time and then in January and sometimes into February, we each take one of our Christmas cards and we pray for the loved ones who sent them to us. This generates LOTS of conversation and is hopefully helping the boys take the attention off of themselves and onto others.
I’m looking forward to more suggestions. We’re not bad at maintaining mealtime meyhem, but we sure could use improvement!
Martha – these are wonderful ideas. I’m so grateful you shared. Thank you. I triple-heart-love the idea of praying for friends and family using their Christmas cards. Mine are still out and I’m moving them to the table today!
Kristin´s last [type] ..Mealtime Make-Overs: Moms rally to take back the table!
Amen!!!! Oh and can we get some tips for hubbys???? lol I love my husband to death but its so hard to train my kids to have manners when you tell them to do something and they say “but daddy doesn’t!” lol
Sorry I should have said “our kids”
LOL! Maybe we should ask the dad’s in our BoyDads.com community to chime in, too.
Kristin´s last [type] ..Mealtime Make-Overs: Moms rally to take back the table!
This is a huge issue for us. Our main problem is we have gotten into the bad habit of just eating in the living room instead of at the dinner table. Than when we eat at the dinner table they don’t know how to act! We are correcting this though! One thing that we are going to start is a devotional at dinner time, this one looks great: http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Table-Devotions-Discussion-Starters/dp/1414318952 I think this will be great for us, because it is also hard to hold my boys attention sometimes when I try to do a devotional with them during the day. I think this is going to be a great series! Can’t wait to take back our dinner time:)
Amy – I love Nancy Guthrie’s Dinner Table Devotions Book! You won’t regret getting it. Be patient with your boys and give yourself grace. It will be a transition to get back to the table, but you can do it! Try lighting a candle on the table and see if they like that. It’s so simple! I’ll be praying for your dinner time, and for all of us.
Kristin´s last [type] ..Mealtime Make-Overs: Moms rally to take back the table!
I need to get back to this in a big way! I remember as a kid the last person to put their napkin in their lap had to go stand in the bathtub and count to ten loud enough for the whole family to hear it. We always hurried SO FAST because it was really hard to catch my dad and we were always trying to beat him.
LOL!!!
Queen Homeschool Supply has a wonderful game called Meal Time Manners or something to that effect. It is cheap and wonderful! It takes that competitive boys attitude and turns it into competing for something that is so worthwhile! My 5 kids loved it and even ask to play it now – all boys. It’s worth checking out!
Hi! I just spoke to some wives of seminary students on Saturday who are also moms and the topic was family mealtimes. When we got home one of the mom’s sent me a link to this blog since it was so “timely”. My blog is specifically about family mealtime and designed to inspire people to get to the family table, so obviously I LOVE this topic! I hope it can be of help to your readers as well.