Thanks to all of you for the wonderful suggestions you have made for No Regrets Parenting time with your kids – you are proving true what I have said all along: if I help you find the time, and help you focus on making the most of your time, you’ll know what to do with the time you have with your kids. Keep the ideas coming!
\nHere’s a great suggestion from Lizz Sommars, host of “Conversations” heard on several leading Seattle radio stations:
\nLizz’s kids are now 21 and 23. When they were younger, every Saturday night, Lizz and her family hosted themselves to a candlelight dinner in their own home. Fancy china and silver, dim lights, soft music, and elegantly-presented food. I told Lizz that candlelight dinners are exactly the concept I had in mind when I wrote the “Taco Night” chapter of No Regrets Parenting – one night a week devoted to a “theme” dinner that everyone looks forward to all week, prepares together, shares together, and cleans up afterwards together. What a wonderful theme Lizz’s family devised!
\nSoon enough your kids’ Saturday night dinner plans may not include you. While they do, why not do it right?! And candlelight is right! This is also a perfect example of the “double-dipping” strategy I wrote about in the “Staying Sane” chapter of No Regrets Parenting – doing things with your kids that you and your kids would each enjoy doing without each other, too. Candlelight dinners are special adult events and special kid events which make them special No Regrets Parenting moments for everyone in the family.
\nThanks, Lizz! I welcome all of you to add your suggestions below for theme-night dinners with your family. If the comments box isn’t here, click on the title of this post and it will magically appear.
", "datePublished": "2012-03-16", "dateModified": "2012-03-16", "author": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com", "jobTitle": "Pediatrician, Author, Parenting Expert" }, "publisher": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dr. Harley Rotbart", "url": "https://harleyrotbart.com" }, "mainEntityOfPage": { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://harleyrotbart.com/blog/candlelight-dinners-for-no-regrets-parenting" }, "wordCount": 299, "timeRequired": "PT2M", "articleSection": "parenting" } --- [Harley Rotbart, M.D. Author • Pediatrician • Grandfather ](/) [Books](/books) [Blog](/blog)[About](/about) [Contact](/#contact) [Back to Blog](/blog)parenting # Candlelight dinners for No Regrets Parenting March 16, 2012 2 min read Thanks to all of you for the wonderful suggestions you have made for No Regrets Parenting time with your kids – you are proving true what I have said all along: if I help you find the time, and help you focus on making the most of your time, you’ll know what to do with the time you have with your kids. Keep the ideas coming! Here’s a great suggestion from Lizz Sommars, host of “Conversations” heard on several leading Seattle radio stations: Lizz’s kids are now 21 and 23. When they were younger, every Saturday night, Lizz and her family hosted themselves to a candlelight dinner in their own home. Fancy china and silver, dim lights, soft music, and elegantly-presented food. I told Lizz that candlelight dinners are exactly the concept I had in mind when I wrote the “Taco Night” chapter of No Regrets Parenting – one night a week devoted to a “theme” dinner that everyone looks forward to all week, prepares together, shares together, and cleans up afterwards together. What a wonderful theme Lizz’s family devised! Soon enough your kids’ Saturday night dinner plans may not include you. While they do, why not do it right?! And candlelight is right! This is also a perfect example of the “double-dipping” strategy I wrote about in the “Staying Sane” chapter of No Regrets Parenting – doing things with your kids that you and your kids would each enjoy doing without each other, too. Candlelight dinners are special adult events and special kid events which make them special No Regrets Parenting moments for everyone in the family. Thanks, Lizz! I welcome all of you to add your suggestions below for theme-night dinners with your family. If the comments box isn’t here, click on the title of this post and it will magically appear. Share this post: [](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fcandlelight-dinners-for-no-regrets-parenting)[](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fcandlelight-dinners-for-no-regrets-parenting&text=Candlelight%20dinners%20for%20No%20Regrets%20Parenting)[](https://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https%3A%2F%2Fharleyrotbart.com%2Fblog%2Fcandlelight-dinners-for-no-regrets-parenting&title=Candlelight%20dinners%20for%20No%20Regrets%20Parenting) HR ### Dr. Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and bestselling author helping families thrive for over 38 years. [Learn More About Dr. Rotbart](/#about) [Previous Post #### Pajama Walks for No Regrets Parenting ](/blog/pajama-walks-for-no-regrets-parenting)[Next Post #### No Regrets Parenting Do-Overs ](/blog/no-regrets-parenting-do-overs) Harley Rotbart, M.D. Nationally-renowned pediatrician, parenting expert, and author. An archive of his books, essays, and writing. [](https://www.facebook.com/harleyrotbartmd/)[](https://www.linkedin.com/in/harley-rotbart-m-d-4817a66/)[](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/youtube-features/) #### Explore - [About](/about) - [Books](/books) - [Blog](/blog) - [Contact](/#contact) #### Books - [The Countdown](/books/the-countdown) - [101 Lessons From The Dugout](/books/101-lessons) - [No Regrets Parenting](/books/no-regrets-parenting) - [No Regrets Living](/books/no-regrets-living) - [Miracles We Have Seen](/books/miracles-we-have-seen) #### Connect - [Blog Archive](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/blog/) - [Reviews & Appearances](https://www.harleyrotbart.com/reviews/) © 2026 Harley Rotbart, M.D. All rights reserved. Parenting Expert • Pediatrician • Author • Educator Made With [](https://heardmarketing.io)by [HEARD](https://heardmarketing.io)