Day 42: Making Sacred Time for Your Family the Dr. Oz Way

Nowadays, much of our time spent with others is filled with distractions. 

Ever notice at work, around the dinner table or at restaurants, people sitting beside and across from one another are not spending quality time together?

 Either people are texting, watching TV, flicking through the pages of a newspaper, book or magazine or the radio is blaring.

I have met many widowed folks and people who live alone, who keep their TV or radio on all the time for company. 

Whether we are alone or with others, technology fills a void with electronbic company when that space around the table is scared.  Habits are hard to break. Especially when people are accustomed to tuning out at the end of the day when they need to be tuning in. We need to be reaching out to each other. 

Dr. Oz writes about the importance of family in his April 2010 blog.  This is what Dr. Oz says,
                                      Importance of Family
"This week one of the most important people in my life, my wife Lisa, will be joining me on the show.  She is a major creative force and an integral part of “The Dr. Oz Show” family.  In fact, she predicted long ago that I would one day have my own television show, and as much as I’d love to take the credit, Lisa is responsible for that prediction coming true. 

The professional and creative collaborations we’ve shared over 25 years of marriage not only give us more time to spend together, but also help us remain connected despite two very demanding careers and four kids.  It strengthens our family when we can look at what another is doing and find ways to join in. It’s one of the concepts Lisa explores in her new book Us: Transforming Ourselves and the Relationships that Matter Most.

What Lisa teaches us with this book is that “us” begins with “you.” On the show, we’re focusing on the relationship between parents and their children. I believe she’s drawn from her personal experiences and crafted a book that reveals the Oz-family formula for parents balancing their careers and all-important family time.

For example, there’s a good chance your kids are interested in something you could find interesting as well, but you’ll only figure that out if you slow down long enough to look at it. One of the best times to do so is when you’re together at the dinner table. All families should make better use of this sacred time. Even if the family can only get together once a week, it can become the event that everyone looks forward to and where everyone gets to express themselves;hopefully it will become a beloved tradition your children impart as they grow older and begin families of their own.

It is fundamentally important that parents take action now, because many children are growing up in homes where both parents have full-time careers, a major change from the American norm just 50 years ago. As a result, we have to work harder than ever to establish a bond with them. What we can teach them now by example is how to manage a successful career without allowing it to cast your loved ones in its shadow.  -Dr. Oz".

In my first marriage, when I was a single parent and now in my second marriage, I have continued to insist that at dinner time, the TV is off and we are tuned  in to chat with one another.  Even when I was on my own and my children were visiting their father, I set a table for one, made myself a nice homemade meal nad sat in silence, enjoying my dinner hour. 

That twenty minutes a few times a week is often the only time that all family members get together.  Plus, without having distractions, you can enjoy the food in front of you, pay attention to when you are full and eat mindfully.

Next time we fill our agendas with our commitments, hobbies, appointments and celebratory dates, make sure you add family dinner time on the calendar a few times a week.

It sets a precedence that will be passed on for future generations to come and then there will always be a space at the table for you too!
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