If you’re like the average parent, you spend 38.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with your children (A.C. Nielsen Co.). If you’re a woman, three out of four of you with children between the ages of 6 and 17 work outside the home, and a third of all parents are raising kids by yourself – kids who take part in more after-school activities than ever (Gallup).

What you need is a flat, slablike top supported on one or more legs, with seats especially for one person – usually having four legs for support and a rest for the back and often having rests for the arms – to place around this furniture designed specifically for serving food to those seated at it.

Ms. Jones doesn’t buy a table and chairs. She buys something that will increase her young child’s vocabulary more than play and story time (Harvard Research, 1996). She buys a lower risk of smoking, drinking, drug use, depressive symptoms and suicidal thoughts for her kids. She buys better grades for her 11-18 year old (Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 2004). She buys a decreased likelihood of eating or her adolescent daughter (University of Minnesota, 2004).

She doesn’t buy wood and glue. She buys solutions like these, all of which are associated with a regular, shared family mealtime. Ms. Jones can replicate the family table with fast food, texting between errands and being her kid’s friend on Facebook. But she can’t replace face time, food time and fellowship time. For that, she needs a flat, slablike top supported on legs.