These days, many families struggle to find time when they can all be together. Sometimes it's because both parents work long hours and sometimes it's because of the kids' many extracurricular activities.

Some nights are going to be crazy busy and you each just have to eat when you can. Other times your family can shift things around to make time for a family meal. Dinner together as a family has never been so important. Why? Here are some reasons:

Eating meals together increases enjoyment of the meal. Food tastes so much better when you're eating with someone else, don't you think? You might say that when you eat together your food is well-seasoned with love or friendship.

Eating altogether encourages communication and strengthens family bonds. With hectic schedules, families don't spend as much time together. Slowing down and sharing a meal gives everyone a chance to catch up with the day's events. You get to find out just how each family member is doing. Call it a daily family check-up.

Younger children love having routines. Sharing meals together with the whole family is a positive event in their young lives and they look forward to it. Don't have them share their meal with the TV. The TV is not a dinner partner, and certainly not family.

Family dinner conversation helps children's vocabularies to grow. When kids listen to their parents or older siblings speak, they learn new words. They will ask what the words mean or figure out the "gist of it", but either way, they are more likely to understand and use more words because of older people conversing with them.

The dinner table is where children learn social skills. Table manners are not something learned from a book, they're learned by practicing them. Kids learn them from their parents - when eating with them. The art of dinner conversation is also a skill they learn from parents at the dinner table. Another plus of dinner conversation is that kids often get to learn about their family history.

Eating traditional foods as a family strengthens a family's ethnic background. Having meals traditional to their heritage helps children to identify and bond with their heritage.

Kids eat healthier at the family dinner table. Kids who eat without their parents tend to eat fewer of the desired foods and more of the less-desired foods. This is particularly true of teenagers who eat more junk food or fast food when by themselves or with friends. When kids eat with their parents, the parents usually provide healthier meals and can keep an eye on what their kids are eating.

Even though it's not always easy to gather together as a family for a meal, it's worth the extra effort. Eating dinner (or any meal) together is a time for nourishment as well as a time for strengthening bonds. After all, family time is treasured time.

Peggy is the editor of the popular Cookin' Kids Newsletter. Interesting themes, fun facts, silly clip art, easy recipes, kid jokes, cooking terms, and safety tips make this newsletter a hit with kids! Learn more about it at http://cookinkids.com