Well, from what I know, Michael did indeed eat with his children on the dinner table when he could. The issue was that he was barely at Neverland to enjoy it. Between 1988 and 2005 he went on three world tours and was traveling most of the time either on business or for other causes. And we also know that most of the time he checked into hotels and stuff. Basically I think it boils down to your ideal lifestyle versus reality. Although he would've liked to live a normal life, his career and his professional obligations simply required him to be constantly working and on the move..