Friends Of Elsie

Like cookies and milk or cheese and crackers, dairy farming and family are a perfect fit.

I married a third generation dairy farmer 25 years ago. My husband, Ryan, and I are natives of Benton County, Ark., and live on the farm established by Ryan's grandfather, located just six miles west of Bentonville. Our two sons are the fourth generation to live and work on our farm.

Dairy farm families are like all other families when it comes to the challenges of sitting down together for a family meal. As a dairy mom for 22 years, I have found that our mealtime is a family strengthening event where we model proper manners and communicate with each other while we sit around the table. In addition, we all take part in the whole process, from preparation to clean-up. Even more importantly, preparing and eating our meals at home as a family sets my boys up for healthy eating habits in the future.

When my boys were teenagers, their activity list expanded and family mealtime became more of a challenge. As the boys began to drive themselves to activities, sitting down as a family to eat became more difficult. As a way to make sure they were still getting the nutrients they needed through a home-cooked meal, I often prepared dishes for eating before and after events, even though we could not sit down together.

We are not an unusual family. Research shows that gathering for family mealtime is a struggle for most people.

• The Journal of American Medicine states that only 43 percent of American families eat together every day.
• A CBS News poll in 2009 found that there are more distractions than ever during mealtime at home: 33 percent of Americans say the TV is always on during dinner and 5 percent say that people at their family dinner table are texting, e-mailing or using their cell phones throughout the meal.

Just reading those statistics gave me more zeal to be in the moment with my family by striving to decrease the distractions that take away from our time together. When my sons get home from college in a couple of weeks, I plan to turn off the TV and all cell phones during meals, establish designated family meal nights and look for simple meals that are delicious and easy to prepare. What I know for sure is that redefining our family mealtime will strengthen our relationships and make great memories for our children to pass on to the next generation.

I'd love to hear your family mealtime tips. And I'm always looking to connect with other moms, so find me on Twitter @AnglinDairy.

Susan Anglin, Anglin Dairy Farm