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Q: How can we make family meals a priority when we're all so busy? Our schedules are nuts. Whether I'm working from home or go to the office, I often don't finish until at least 6 p.m. Then I have to fix dinner while the hungry crew waits impatiently -- or just does their own thing.

Jim: Let's start by acknowledging that as a working mom with a busy family, you're not positioned to serve up the kind of family dinners your great-grandmother likely produced. That's OK. Don't give up, just change your strategy; approach the problem from a different angle.

Remember that shared meals don't always have to happen in the evening or during the busy working week. Sometimes that's just not realistic. Research shows if you can manage three family meals a week, you'll be on the right track. This is achievable if you're willing to adjust your plan to include weekends and other mealtimes. A little creativity and ingenuity can compensate for your lack of time.

One way to do this is to prepare a large number of meals beforehand. Numerous cookbooks, blogs and websites offer practical tips for planning and preparing meals "in bulk" on a once-a-week or even once-a-month basis. If finances allow, you may also want to look at subscription-based services offering customized meal plans, recipes and correlated shopping lists. This can take much of the stress out of food prep so you can focus on the relational aspect of mealtimes.

If you don't want to get involved in planning that far ahead, you may be able to simplify things just by changing your ideas about dinner. The evening meal doesn't have to be a big production. The point is to have some family time around the table. And if you make it a group effort -- everybody pitches in to help -- that amplifies the benefit for all concerned.

Q: I've heard you advocate "cultivating grit and resilience" in children. Tell me more?

Dr. Danny Huerta, Vice President, Parenting & Youth: The ability to overcome challenges is typically the result of grit (the capacity to persevere toward a goal) and resilience (being able to bounce back from adversity). These, in turn, come from working through difficulties. Unfortunately, many parents shelter kids from disappointment, fear and failure; they may even avoid establishing boundaries out of concern about "bad feelings."

Remember: You don't need to solve all your kids' problems for them. Validate them by acknowledging the challenges they face, but remind them of their capabilities -- and celebrate victories. Emphasize patience, self-control, faithfulness, humility, respect and creativity as character traits that provide the framework for developing resilience and grit.

Here are several important concepts to teach your children as they learn to cultivate grit and resilience:

-- Fail with a bounce. Losing with a "next time" mindset permits growth. Failing with an "I have something I can work on" mentality provides motivation for improvement.

-- Push through with a "no matter what" attitude. This helps kids rise above discomfort and learn to sift through their thoughts to pick the best ones, not just the easiest ones.

-- Adopt the "one more" mentality. We all have "one more" in us, even when we feel like quitting. Teach your children to push themselves a bit beyond what they thought they could do.

-- Own your decisions. Teach them to make decisions, take responsibility for them and avoid blaming others when their decisions don't go well. Ask, "What do you think you should do next?"

-- Pursue growth, not happiness. Kids need to learn early on that happiness is a decision, not a right. It's not based on circumstances, but on their response to circumstances.

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Jim Daly is a husband and father, an author, and president of Focus on the Family and host of the Focus on the Family radio program. Catch up with him at jimdalyblog.focusonthefamily.com or at Facebook.com/JimDalyFocus.

Copyright 2026 Focus On The Family. (This feature may not by reproduced or distributed electronically, in print or otherwise without written permission of Focus on the Family.)

COPYRIGHT 2026 Andrews McMeel Syndication. This feature may not be reproduced or distributed electronically, in print or otherwise without the written permission of Andrews McMeel Syndication.