I met Laurie David recently when she launched her new book, The Family Dinner at an intimate gathering at Borders bookstore. She has an amazingly warm spirit and immediately convinced me that she enjoys lovely family meals with her two teen daughters. She walks the walk.

One thing I came away with was the idea that perhaps as important as what we eat, is how we eat. Laurie says that she feels the family meal is the most important thing she has done as a parent.

She offers parents a way to feel good about ourselves. She knows that we are all trying our best, but if you can eat with your kids as frequently as possible, then you are doing something very important for your kids. Laurie says,” As my kids have gotten older, I see how truly instrumental those dinners, meal after meal after meal, have been in keeping my family connected to each other in good times and bad, even through a divorce and during the “difficult” (boy is that an understatement) teen years. Those dinners helped my kids establish a love of veggies, an appreciative palette, a habit of drinking water and the security to express their feelings.”

Laurie also talked about technologies from cell phones to the microwave that have pulled us away from interacting in the kitchen and at the table. She said that it doesn’t matter if you are eating PB&J, what is important is that you sit with your kids and interact with them over a meal. If you can’t do dinner, make it breakfast.

Family Dinner is chock full of ideas to engage kids at mealtime. One of my favorites is to put a bowl in the middle of the table where the family can place little objects that they find throughout the week and then once a week you can have a show and tell. I definitely will try this with my kids who are always coming home with little finds in their pockets from acorns to small plastic toys.

A little ritual is a good thing.

She suggests naming the days of the week – Taco Tuesdays, Pizza Fridays – and playing silly games at the table like having everyone do a funny laugh. These are all great ideas and the book has many more. My family recently started holding hands and giving thanks at dinner. We go around the table or do it popcorn style (whoever is moved to speak speaks) and we say something that we are grateful for at that moment. A few weeks ago, my youngest (3 years old) started reminding us to give thanks at every meal, even breakfast. She blurts it out like a revelation “THANKS!” and then we all hold hands in compliance to her authority.

When it is her turn to say something, she always looks down in front of herself and gives thanks for her food, her water, whatever she sees. She even gave thanks for broccoli and she hates broccoli! This ritual has a nice affect on us (especially my husband and me), it grounds us in the moment and gently invites us to really focus on each other.

Laurie David and her co-author, the charming chef Kristin Uhrenholdt, have made a few videos based on the book and they promise to post more. Stay tuned as we will be posting them right here on parentearth.com.