IELTS Writing Task 2: Family & Children

In many countries, the tradition of having family meals together is disappearing. 

Why is this happening? What will be the effects of this on the family and society?

In today’s modern lifestyle most parents are having a career, which makes eating with family together become a challenge. Eating meals with the family tend to be beneficial to everyone, however, hectic schedules changes the mealtime habits for children and parents alike. This essay begins by discussing the causes of that vanishing culture and explores the possible effects linked with not eating meals together.  

Sadly, most families nowadays rarely eat together. Many people moved from eating simultaneously to eating alone because of several factors. In the past, mother mostly do the majority of cooking and keeping up with the house but now they are also working to make ends meet. Women now have less time left for cooking. Moreover, children glued to their mobile phones during mealtimes is another popular factors that keep family away from sharing meals. The modern day families are quite distracted by technology, making younger generation becoming more disconnected from society and increasingly out of control with phones. 

The changes of family members eating habits such as not eating together carries a negative effects not just inside home but in the society as well. For example, escaping mealtime with family has a potential for children to increase the risk of childhood’s obesity. Parents are more likely following an eating patterns and employ strict rules on unhealthy food intake, if they are sitting at the same time for a meal. In addition, eating together with the family is sacrosanct as it is the ritual that provides a time for a family to be connected. But the gradual disappearance of this tradition can cause self-isolation to children because of less social interaction at home. Spending time with children during mealtime is a strong protective factors against loneliness. 

To sump up, busy schedules contributed much in reducing the chances of family to sit in dining table at one time. The absence of family interaction can lead children to more susceptible to developing depressive behaviour that causes loneliness. 

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