Most parents understand the benefits of sitting down for family meals, but preparing a lavish dinner every night and then cleaning up afterward isn’t always possible for busy families. Luckily, there’s an easier way to spend quality time together. Taking the family out to a favorite local restaurant offers tons of benefits. Here are a few of them.

Why Families Should Go Out to Restaurants Together

1. Provides Quality Time

When you go out to eat, you spend more than the actual meal time together. You also get the time while your meal is being prepared, where at home you may be in the kitchen cooking or cleaning as your kids watch TV or work on homework in another room.

Restaurants also often include fewer distractions; your kids can’t run off to their rooms or start playing video games in the middle of a conversation.

2. Helps Kids Try New Food

Restaurants offer tons of different menu items, so there’s something every member of the family can enjoy, even if you have picky eaters or people with different preferences. It’s also easier for people to try new things. Perhaps a member of the family is willing to share a bite of their food with the table or each person can pick a weekly special and then split items with someone else.

Family members may discover new foods they love, all without you having to prepare tons of different meals with no guarantee that people will like or eat them.

3. Strengthens Social Skills

Learning how to act in public is an important part of growing up. By taking kids out to restaurants regularly, it gives you the opportunity to model how to be polite and act in certain situations.

You can teach them table manners, conversational skills with those outside your family, and acts like tipping and being kind to servers. Learning these lessons early on can help them navigate similar social situations as they get older.

If you’re looking for a restaurant where you can spend quality time with the family, look no further than JC Supper Club in St. Louis, MO. The facility offers lunch, dinner, happy hour specials, catering, and even private events. The menu consists of American cuisine favorites like wings, salads, sandwiches, and barbecue entrees. They also feature live music and karaoke events for those looking for a fun night out. Visit the website to see a full menu. For catering inquiries or reservations, call (314) 755-1923.