There is no doubt that we eat dinner differently than we did as families several decades ago. Busy lives and electronic devices have taken most of our attention, but there are still many parents that want to do dinner with their family regularly.
A recent survey conducted for Pound of Ground by OnePoll shows that there are many challenges American families face in order to get people together for mealtimes. According to Study Finds, 2000 parents were involved in the survey, and the details are rather telling.
As far as the day when families are most likely to get together around the dinner table, it seems to fall on Tuesday and Wednesday, with about 50% responding for those days. Interestingly, on the same days, about 45% said that they weren’t likely to have a plan ready for dinner.
Monday was the day that people seemed to feel on top of everything, with 23% responding. 16%, however, said they were struggling to stay afloat by the time Thursday came around.
They also took a look into the months that were most difficult for parents, and they included February, with 33% responding, March, coming in at 28%, and January tying with March at 28%.
76% of those surveyed said that they were the busiest person in the family, even though they would readily admit that their children were busy with activities as well.
When given the opportunity to respond, one said: “We schedule our life around our kids, not the other way around.” I think that most parents understand their feelings.
According to Study Finds, the creator of Pound of Ground, which makes frozen ground beef crumbles, Heidi Meyer, said that there are numerous factors that interfere with our ability to get to the dinner table. These would include activities that take the children’s attention, as well as not having the time to defrost meat or not having the ingredients together.
Meyer went on to say: “As a busy parent myself, I know how hectic the week can be, and I’m constantly on the search for a solution for dinner on nights that I don’t have a plan.”
Additional details came from the survey that shed some light on this family meal. 74% feel that they are consistent with the timing every day and 62% said they typically eat dinner after 7 PM. Only 29% admitted to having dinner between 6 – 7 PM.
Spontaneity also seems to play into the dinner plans, with 35% saying they figured things out hours before the meal was on the table. Often, last-minute dishes such as pasta (40%), frozen meals (37%), and hot dogs or burgers (63%) were included on the table.
What would you feel stands in the way the most with getting a meal plan together? Perhaps you agree with 36% who said they were missing a key ingredient. Another 33% just said they don’t have enough energy.
Having enough time to thaw the meat was a problem for about 33% of those who responded. 76% said they even forget to take it out of the freezer and 46% said it happened frequently.
Approximately four out of 10 people said that they either divide work between family members or have common items in the pantry. They also admitted to setting aside specific days to assign a meal. We always had pizza on Fridays.
Meyer said that having enough staples on hand in the pantry was a good way to set yourself up for success. She said: “By extending what we think as typical ‘pantry items’ to what’s in the freezer, like frozen uncooked ground beef, we open the door to new, easy possibilities.”