Tonight, have dinner together. Shared meals deepen our connections with one another, and give us the sense that we are part of something larger than ourselves.

Social distancing is an opportunity to foster more meaningful connections in our own homes. Normally, dinnertime can be a sore subject for families that crave time together but can’t seem to find it. Now that the kids are unexpectedly out of school and group activities are canceled, there is no better time to reset and focus on what really matters.

Family meals foster many important social skills. The research is particularly compelling around language development and dinnertime–and language is the most important facet of social intelligence we have.

Running out of things to talk about at dinnertime? Start telling your kids some family history. Research shows that telling stories about your shared past creates strong and secure emotional bonds, which directly impacts how socially connected they feel. Turns out this study also found that kids who knew a lot about their family history learned it at dinnertime.

For more on harnessing the power of family dinners, check out this throwback video from The Raising Happiness Homestudy.