The message comes after new research found 53 per cent of mums and dads choose to serve tea for the children before eating later themselves.
Spokesman for the Christian charity, Care for the Family, Philip Jinadu, told Premier's News Hour: "See whether you can even just once a week have a meal together.
"See how you get on with that, rather than trying to have every meal together in a kind of perfect set up, just start with smaller expectations."
A survey by the recipe box delivery company, Hello Fresh, also found 73 per cent of parents thought family dinner time was a thing of the past, while 36 per cent said finding meals the whole family would like put them off eating as a family.
Speaking about the importance of family meal times, Philip Jinadu said: "When we eat together as families, it bonds us together as families.
"It helps children with their own psychological development. It helps build a sense of identity for 'who I am' and 'how I fit into my family'."
Nearly 60 per cent of the 1,500 mums and dads involved in the study said picky eating habits among their children caused arguments.
Chef and co-founder of Hello Fresh, Patrick Drake, said: "The results of this research make us really sad - and the fact that 73 per cent of the population think family dinner time is a thing of the past is actually quite worrying.
"We understand the physical and emotional benefits of sitting around a table, discussing the day; food can bring people, friends and families together."
Philip Jinadu said regular communication between parents and their children can make broaching more difficult conversations much easier.
He added: "You kind of need to have that practise of being at mealtimes and talking naturally and build [building] that natural habit of children talking with parents.
"If you don't have that, then you find that communication with your children just gets very, very difficult."
Click here to listen to Philip Jinadu speaking with Premier's Antony Bushfield: