HYDERABAD: A meal is better when had with family, but a good Tweet comes from the breakfast table. No posts get more likes than those featuring couples sharing a meal with their babies. India cricket team captain Virat Kohli shared an adorable photo of himself with wife Anushka Sharma and daughter Vamika sharing breakfast in Dubai. The picture went viral with lakhs of likes and thousands of comments filled with love and heart emojis. Some even wrote about how adorable and heartwarming the photo was. Well, we say that’s the power of eating together.
“Eating together gives young children the chance to learn more words and how to communicate better. It is a must to have meals with a family that has younger children. Besides, children also share about their day-to-day lives and parents can advise them,” says Dr Diana Monteiro, a counselling psychologist.
Diana, in fact, comes across many couples who don’t talk to each other because they think there is nothing to talk about. “But when sharing a meal, we have something to do (to eat), and conversation strikes up. We must communicate and break the awkward silences to maintain a healthy relationship and strong family bonding,” she says.
In short, a family that eats together, stays together! Here is what some prominent people in the city have to say about the importance of having at least one meal every day with family.
Socialite and businesswoman Shilpa Datla makes sure that she rounds up her family for at least one meal every day. “All members in my family are generally busy with work and other responsibilities. So, I make sure we get together for a meal. Sometimes, there is nothing better than discussing important stuff over a meal. It also provides us with the opportunity to share our opinions and advise other members of the family. More than anything, we get to share the day’s activities,” says Shilpa, a third-generation member of the family that started Nagarjuna Cements (NCL).
Tollywood singer Dinker Kalvala believes that meals bring families together. “This is very important especially when we all lead busy lives. Spending quality time with family is crucial and there is no better opportunity than any meal of the day. We get to discuss work, colleagues and everything happening outside of home,” says Dinker.
Maansi Kumar, the daughter of MAUD Special Chief Secretary Arvind Kumar, says sharing one meal every day with her father is a ritual. “During the lockdown, the ritual was extended to two meals a day. Now since my dad keeps busy, we only get together once. It is the time when we keep distractions such as TV and phones away to discuss our day-to-day activities or speak about something important that involves us all,” she says.
Here’s what some prominent people in Hyd got to say about the need to have a meal with family