The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences has declared Dec. 3 as national “Dine In” Day in recognition of the importance of family mealtime. While sitting down as a family together to eat dinner on this one day celebrates this often passé ritual, there is a lot of value in making time for family dinner all year long.

Research tells us again and again that there are physical, social and economical benefits to eating with our families. According to the AAFCS website, dining in with your family:

•Decreases the likelihood of becoming overweight or obese, a cause of many health issues with a huge cost to consumers and society

•Increases consumption of healthy foods and varieties of foods

•Money savings for your family as eating out costs much more than home preparation of meals

•Better grades for kids

•Improved family relationships

•Increased literacy among children

Studies show 97 percent of children’s restaurant meals do not meet nutrition standards. However, this doesn’t mean that a family should never eat out.

Save this for special occasions and days when cooking out is just not possible.

Here are some tips for building family meals into your family’s busy schedule:

1. Make family meals a priority and agree upon a schedule.

2. Try to have regular family meals two to three times per week.

3. If dinnertime doesn’t work, have family breakfasts or snacks.

4. Keep meals simple. Slow cookers save time for busy and working families.

5. Double recipes and freeze food for a second meal.

6. Set aside 30 minutes on the weekend for meal planning and cooking ahead.

7. Make family meals fun and include children in menu planning, shopping and food preparation.

8. Discuss neutral or positive topics at the table. Use conversation starters such as “What was the best vacation you were ever on?” or “What was the best thing that happened to you today?”

9. Eliminate distractions like TV and cell phones.

10. Eat slowly, and enjoy your time as a family.

You may be reading this article way after Dine In Day is over, but that’s OK. Today is a great day to start carving out time for family mealtime.

Start small, add more meals over time. You will be surprised at how the family comes together when they know they are sitting down to dine.