While some parents have embraced that nightly home-cooked dinner with zeal, others are taking a second look and deciding to cut themselves some slack. Leah B. Samler, a psychologist , said “In this day and age, that nightly family dinner often is not realistic,” and encourages the idea of possible rarer, but more relaxed, meals. “Families can have a Friday night pizza or a weekend meal to which others outside the immediate family are invited. That can still help build the skills of paying attention, sharing tasks, preparing food and setting aside structured time to connect.” -Huffington Post Life