Is Your Home Like A Hotel?

MuslimSister —

Have family meals gone out of fashion?

As the government plans a national tour to promote its Respect Agenda, published last month, the BBC News website examines the importance of the family meal for fostering respect.

The days of families sitting down together every evening for a meal are often said to be long gone and their demise is sometimes seen as symptomatic of the breakdown in family life.

Can it also have led to a decline in respect between generations?

Various studies have suggested a link between fewer family meals and eating disorders, obesity, drug and alcohol abuse and poor communication skills among young people.

Mealtime aspirations

Kathryn Milburn, professor of sociology of families and health, believes modern mothers find it very difficult to ensure an old-fashioned cooked meal at a set time.

She said: "There is so much pressure on women to be all singing all dancing.

"They are out in the labour market and trying to do other things like supervising children's homework. They face many demands.

Women are very concerned to provide their families with decent meals.

"I completely understand they have to go down the convenience food route."

She has not studied the knock-on effects that not having meals as a family may have on anti-social behaviour but has examined competing pressures on parents.

"If they don't manage to sit down as family every evening it is hardly surprising," said Ms Milburn, who is co-director of the Centre for Research on families and relationships based at Edinburgh University.

"Putting a meal together is definitely something they still value but it is often impossible to do on a daily basis."

Justine Roberts, co-founder of the parenting website netmums.com, agrees.

She said: "One or both parents are not getting home until after bedtime. There is no prospect of an evening meal.

"Most people aspire to it and think it a good thing but it gets relegated to weekends."

But to blame a decline in mealtimes to an increase in anti-social behaviour was a "bit trite", she said.

"It's just another catchy thing to make parents feel guilty. It's just not that simple," she said.

BBC NEWS

Forum
General

92 comments

yashmaki Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 17:20

lol, thanx! just think next time you eat someone might have used the loo but were careless in washing their hands, and you're sitting there eating from the same plate. Eat up and enjoy hee hee hee.

iRazor Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 17:24

Well, i only get to civilised places, whwer they disinfect and WASH the plates before another human being gets served it. 😂

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 17:33

yashmakifinishing schools teach you etiquette and good manners. Including conversation, eating manners, dressing, walking, talking. Gosh they train you like you're preparing for the crufts.

lol a relic of the era of chauvenism.

Though I don't think there is anything particularly antiquated about manners and propriety.

star Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 19:48

lol

are you one of those who do it just to irritate.

Obvious you not to blame if it just comes out..some people find it hard to stop lol

But thats nasty..

MuslimSisLilSis Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 19:52

naj

MuslimSisLilSisdinner time gives us chance to catch up-n tease one another :twisted:

I dont like that happening....espec when im eating,

When my bro starts teasing about stuff or whateva get so peed of..

I like to enjoy my food and concentrate whilst eating..

talking at eating times gets me irritated most times.

we always chat at meal times

usually me and bro get together and wind up older sis

she VERY easy to tease and irritate- :twisted:

the only time we have dead silent meals is if/when dad's in a bad mood with us cos we done sumin naughty :shock:

MuslimSisLilSis Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 20:20

why?

i can be lil Miss prim and proper when I choose to be

sucking bones, slurping, licking ur lips, burping, speaking with mouth full etc etc is ALL rude

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 20:23

naj:lol:

whats worse sucking bones or burping ?

the second - though sucking bones is coming it at a very close second.

Whats wrong with you two!!?! One eats like a hyena and the other LIKE A BOAR.

star Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 20:26

Way hold on ..... when i say sucking bones thats until all the meats gone off and no taste left on the bone.

you should finish of your meals properly....and not waste food 🙂

no noise effects....no worries.

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 20:35

najWay hold on ..... when i say sucking bones thats until all the meats gone off and no taste left on the bone.

lol that's why you got to be the Hyena

najyou should finish of your meals properly....and not waste food :)

lol sometimes it seems cardinal rule of a lady is to waste as much as possible

najno noise effects....no worries.

...well ya got that working in your favor

star Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 21:47

something... you makin me sound like a scavenger 🙁

Augustus

najyou should finish of your meals properly....and not waste food :)

lol sometimes it seems cardinal rule of a lady is to waste as much as possible:)

man shows am a rare exception, i like to wipe my plate clean with no sign of food having been placed there 🙂 thats the proper way.

Mez Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 21:58

And there will be no need to wash the plate after cause you have just done so wipeing it clean with no tace of food on it! 😃

*DUST* Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 22:39

Augustus

naj:lol:

whats worse sucking bones or burping ?

the second - though sucking bones is coming it at a very close second.

Whats wrong with you two!!?! One eats like a hyena and the other LIKE A BOAR.

😂

i eat with my hands... and chopsticks... 😂

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 22:49

*DUST*

Augustus
naj:lol:

whats worse sucking bones or burping ?

the second - though sucking bones is coming it at a very close second.

Whats wrong with you two!!?! One eats like a hyena and the other LIKE A BOAR.

😂

i eat with my hands... and chopsticks... :lol:

Well it's normal for some foods naturally...

I love chopsticks! - Never got the hang of how they eat rice with em though

star Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:00

*DUST*i eat with my hands... and chopsticks... :lol:

what exactley

chappatis and rice wiv chopsticks :?

do you two even know how 2 hold em,

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:04

naj

*DUST*i eat with my hands... and chopsticks... :lol:

what exactley

chappatis and rice wiv chopsticks :?

do you two even know how 2 hold em,

In fact I do - a japanese fellow showed me once and i've been perfecting my style ever since.

lol one of the funniest pictures of me ever is in this Japanese steakhouse with the cooking staff (I took lessons there for 2 months).

There are all these very short small Asian people then me in the middle - and I dunno if it's the angle or the lighting but I look like a giant.

star Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:08

must take loadsa mount of practise.....i wonder who invented the chopstick crazy idea

AugustusThere are all these very short small Asian people then me in the middle - and I dunno if it's the angle or the lighting but I look like a giant.

lol maybe neither

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:11

lol good question...

I know Hashi came to Japan from China... so it must be some kinda very early Chinese development

star Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:25

no i dont think so........

but yea you right it was a chinese development .....developed around 3000 to 5000 years ago... :shock:

just checked it up.

Dave Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:27

3 to 5 thousand years ago?

We didn't really start doing the whole civilization thing until 4000 years ago...

Wow.

Just goes to show we are naturally hungry people

*DUST* Wed, 15 Feb 2006 - 23:44

naj

*DUST*i eat with my hands... and chopsticks... :lol:

what exactley

chappatis and rice wiv chopsticks :?

do you two even know how 2 hold em,

chapatis with chopsticks?! :shock: ofcourse not!! i meant chinese/oriental food - noodles, fried rice etc.
everything else i eat with my hands...

dave, funnily enuf i'm quicker at eating rice with chopsticks than i am with noodles... :? 😂
and btw, eating with hands really isnt as messy as it sounds! 😛

Comments are closed on this post.