Why is the drive-thru so enticing?
Let’s step back a moment. It’s easy; for sure, and marketing is effective, but let’s dig deeper and learn from it. Why does the thought of waiting in line for expensive food that sits heavy in our tummies, win out, over heading home? I am setting aside nutrition, by the way, so capture and toss the guilt and shame that jumps into your thoughts.
For starters, picture where all your littles are, as you drive up to the window: everyone is buckled in.
Everyone. Is. Buckled. In.
Laugh with me for a moment as we picture our car seats transposed to our kitchen table. There is a little part of us that would kinda like that. Isn’t that half the battle at mealtime? Getting everyone sitting at the table at the same time? It’s why we lament when our babies outgrow the highchair because now we are herding them to the table instead of plopping them into place.
If this was the only advantage of the drive-thru, it would be enough, right? But there’s more.
Everyone gets to pick their own meal.
We have to hand over our hard-earned cash, but there are times when this reason alone is worth it. No heroic feats are required to make something that everyone will like (or let’s be honest, we are happy if it is only two different meals this time). Here, in the magic of drive-thru dining, everyone gets what they want.
The food is always the same.
And for our little tentative eater, there are no surprises. The fries are always the same. The nuggets are always the same. No variation. No complaints.
The food is entertaining.
(You don’t think that the fries are not designed with a little hand in mind? Oh yes.) And we get: 5 minutes of peace. No one is arguing for a brief moment. There are no complaints about what was prepared. Just eating.
Drive-thru dining is efficient.
We can dine and drive, be fed when we get there, and then throw all the ‘plates’ in the garbage (not encouraging any of this; just stating our humanness here).
But wait, with all these benefits, what’s the catch? Here’s the downside:
If we are all buckled in, we are all facing forward. Not facing each other.
There is a reason the saying “hard to face” exists.
- When we face each other, with heads up, we engage. We connect, and we build relationship
Is it harder? Yup.
Is it worth it? It is.
If we all get to choose our meals individually, we miss out on the opportunity to be exposed to foods we don’t like yet.
- When we are exposed to foods we don’t like yet, over time, we learn to like them.
When we are not all eating the same meal, we don’t add to our skills in compromising and giving up for another. We know all too well that each of our family members has preferred meals and foods. If we give each one what they want to eat (like in the drive-thru) at most meals, they do not test the security that, even though they may not have their favourite this time, they will at some point.
- When we all eat the same meal, we add to our skills in compromise.
Drive-thru dining or food ordering, for that matter, causes us to miss a chance to wait.
I’m actually serious.
Finding opportunities to wait in our ‘instant’ culture are few and far between. There is learning in the waiting. Appreciation rarely is exercised when our wants are instantly gratified.
- When we wait, we appreciate.
Eating together is an opportunity to relish in anticipation rather than short-lived, instant gratification.
Taking it too far? I honestly don’t think so. And I haven’t even got to, eating a meal made at home:
- results in less garbage,
- is less expensive,
- provides an opportunity for shared responsibility
- and to establish family traditions.
In the moment, some of these initial benefits of ordering food to each of our preferences seem worth it. But when you step back and see what opportunities are missed, the balance may not be in favor of another ordered meal.
Here is this week’s challenge to build family connection:
Try one more, one-meal-for-all, at home. Facing each other.
Knowing there is gain in the zoo around your table.
8 Ways Eating at the Table is an Investment in Your Family:
- Relationship is built
- Exposure to not-yet-liked foods
- Add to skills in compromise
- Fosters appreciation
- Environmentally conscious – less garbage
- Financial stewardship – less expensive at home (really!)
- Responsibility – help prepare and clean up the meal
- Traditions are established together
Don’t hear what I am not saying. None of this is to foster guilt when the turn signal decides it is a drive-thru night. We aren’t looking for perfection.
We are looking for one more intentional meal with a decision going in, that the zoo is worth it.
Maybe it doesn’t seem like it tonight, but I am here to tell you, years of little decisions mount to a place where relationship is built with your kids.
And as they start to adult, equipped with these skills that were ignited around your table, you will see the fruit of your labor.
Here is a little real-life encouragement for you. A text I picked up this week read: “Mom, can Jake (name changed) and I come over for supper on Wednesday? He liked it so much last time, he wants to come again”. The food? Partially. They are young men after all. Something more, he was craving? I’d betcha it was.
PS I hope to post more in-depth discussions about these 8 ways. Stay-tuned.
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