Gather Around the Table

This post is part of a series of 31 Day to Cultivating Heart Connections with Your Child as part of the 31 Days of Five Minute Free Writes Challenge.

“And this is how I think Peter Rabbit would eat his carrot,” exclaimed my daughter as she nibbled no less than fifteen dainty bites of carrot before stuffing the rest into her mouth.

“I think Peter Rabbit eats his carrot like this,” added the three-year-old as he took only one small nibble off his carrot.

“But what about Rabbit, in Winnie the Pooh? How do you think he eats his carrot?” This came from my five-year-old who has a major dislike of carrots but a love of dear old Pooh Bear.

Putting on my best Rabbit voice, I marveled at the round perfection and perfect shade of orange before taking a perfunctory bite.

A delightful Peter Rabbit imitation as we cultivated heart connections by gathering around the table.

This little delightful conversation wouldn’t have happened if we hadn’t have gathered around the table for a shared lunch.

I know it can be a real challenge to gather the family around the table to share meals, but I firmly believe in the importance of shared mealtimes to cultivate heart connections between family members. In the shared routines of mealtime, space can be made for meaningful conversations. The table becomes a place of bonding over shared food, shared conversation, and shared emotion.

But friend, as the mom in your family, it takes initiative on your part. We moms set the tone for our family meals more often than not. It’s up to us to set our minds and begin the habit of gathering our broods around the table and starting those table time conversations. The longer we do it, the easier it will get.

Gathering our children around the table can be an opportunity to gently cultivate heart connections with them while meeting their physical needs.