The idea of family dinner can feel like one more thing to get right. In practice, the meals that matter are rarely elaborate. What children remember is the table, the conversation and the sense that everyone stopped for a while.

Aim for most nights, not every night. Look at the week on Sunday, find the evenings when everyone is home and plan simple meals for those. On the busiest nights, a quick dinner eaten together beats a better meal eaten in shifts.

Keep a short list of fallback dinners that take twenty minutes or less: pasta with whatever vegetables are in the fridge, quesadillas, breakfast for dinner, or a sheet pan of chicken and potatoes that roasts while homework gets done.

Give everyone a job. Even young children can set the table, wash vegetables or stir a pot with supervision. A meal they helped make is a meal they are more likely to eat.

Then put the phones somewhere else and ask better questions than "How was your day?" Try "What made you laugh today?" or "What was the hardest part of your day?" The answers are usually worth the effort of getting everyone to the table.