So it’s not the 1950s and the opportunity to sit down to a leisurely dinner doesn’t typically present itself. Between kids’ sports, running errands, quality time with your spouse, your career and trying to maintain somewhat of a social life, dinner usually becomes what you can grab on the go.

But you might want to at least try fitting family dinners into your schedule—home cooking has plenty of benefits such as a better control of what your family eats (avoiding preservatives or junk food), money saving and helping to create a place where people want to gather.

An interesting study from the University of British Columbia shows that Canadians are still taking the time to cook meals at home, favouring dining-in over take-out. That’s great news!

Having family dinners could also improve children’s health. A recent WebMD feature – explains that children with asthma seem to be healthier when following the implementation of routine family dinners; social interaction children receive at dinnertime, says the article, plays a positive role in the children’s health conditions. Why not make it a rule that no cell phones or gadgets are allowed at the dinner table, and especially no eating in front of the TV.! Turning off the tube while eating meals may actually benefit your health with weight loss (if needed), since being distracted is often what leads us to overeat.

Although dinnertime can’t always be the perfect scenario and you can’t always keep up with the Cleavers, it’s comforting to know that quality time will ultimately impact your family’s health—spending time together is just the icing on the cake.