Why the family kitchen isn’t everything that it used to be
It didn’t seem to be that long ago that our kitchens were seen as the heart of our home. It was the place that every single member of the family would come together and it would be the place where huge family dinners were cooked.
However, over time, the kitchen and in particular the idea of a family kitchen has really changed and it seems that not only has this had an impact on the type of meals that are cooked but also the amount of time that we spend together as a family unit.
So, why is the family kitchen not exactly as we remember it and is there anything that you can do about it?
The reasons that the family kitchen has changed
There are a number of reasons why a family kitchen isn’t quite what it used to be. The main reason for this seems to be time. We are all busy and this busy nature means that we have less time to come together to cook healthy family meals. Not only this, but with conflicting schedules or longer working hours, more families are having a disjointed meal times, perhaps eating separately a few times a week.
Another thing that is having a huge impact on family meal times is that we seem to have more and more children that are fussy eaters. Difficult eating habits will 100% have an impact on how you cook family meals and will often mean that you cook simple dinners for one child and then are less likely to want to create anything too complicated for the other children.
Finally, food is expensive and we are all aware of trying to save money in as many ways as we can. This could mean that the types of dinners that we used to cook are not the same as what we cook now.
What can be done about it?
So, the kitchen as we know it has changed, but does this mean that we have to give up on the idea of family kitchens as we know and love them? We don’t think so. In fact, we believe that you can bring a touch of family togetherness into your kitchen.
The main thing to do is to make the time to prepare and cook family meals, perhaps encouraging your children to join in with the food prep. This will help you to come together and also to look forward to delicious home cooked meals too.
It is also a good idea to design your kitchen in a way that encourages being social. Have a large dining table with plenty of seating (if space allows of course) and also design a breakfast bar style space where people can sit and chat whilst you prepare food.
These simple touches could really transform your kitchen into a space that your family want to spend time in, want to come together in and want to make sure that you have some quality time together.