More Good Reasons
to Make Time for the
Family Dinner

It’s well documented that kids who eat dinner regularly with their families feel more connected, do better in school and are less likely to be involved in drugs and alcohol and other risky behaviors. But in today’s fast paced, stressful, crazy busy world, there seems to be little time for gathering and connecting with family, and in blended families with transitioning kids and packed schedules, it’s even more challenging. We have the illusion of connectedness from the pervasive cell phones, text messaging and email but there’s no substitute for face to face, electronic-free interaction with family members all together.

One simple solution is to schedule regular family dinners. And now there are even more good reasons to make the family dinner part of your routine as often as you can.

1. A study among 1010 young couples by the University of Missouri showed that mealtimes, including preparation, eating the meal and clean up, provided quality time for couples to bond as they shared this activity together. The frustrating issue of balancing work and time together was significantly alleviated and their relationship strengthened by spending time in the kitchen. And an added benefit was that couples who started out their marriage with a shared mealtime ritual were more likely to continue once they had children and to share it with them.

2. Many parents struggle with the challenge of providing a healthy diet that their kids will eat. We’re all aware of the growing number of kids with obesity and Type II diabetes caused by consuming unhealthy pre-prepared foods and unstructured inactivity. We’re also aware that kids can be fussy eaters, reluctant to move beyond their favorites of chicken nuggets, pizza and fries, even teenagers. Here’s some encouraging news.

Researchers at Teachers College at Columbia University showed that kids, K- 6, who not only had classes in healthy nutrition but also participated in cooking vegetables and whole grains, were more likely to eat those foods than kids who did not do the cooking part. The message is parents should try to involve kids of all ages in meal preparation with healthy and nutritious food choices, despite the mess and reluctance to have little children in the kitchen; if parents are concerned about sharp knives and hot water around little kids, make sure the kitchen is safe for the particular age group. Not only will the kids learn cooking skills, they will be more likely to try new foods and eat the healthy foods they help prepare.

Action Step

• Try to have a family dinner at least once a week where everyone is engaged with each other, face to face and not distracted with TV, cell phones, or other electronic devices.
• Keep it simple with paper plates if you want, but make sure meals are healthy and nutritious. Try to introduce new foods and remember, experts say it’s OK to make vegetables more appealing to kids with butter, salad dressing or cheese sauce; the extra calories are an acceptable trade off if the child adds a new vegetable to his diet.
• Make dinner a joint effort so that every family member contributes, from the littlest kid putting out the napkins to the older kids helping with meal planning, preparation and serving. Everyone should feel useful and his or her efforts acknowledged.
• Have fun, talk, listen, laugh, focus on each other and plan the next meal with creativity and everyone contributing. Pretty soon you can start a meal planner for the week and begin to give the kids even more responsibility that will in turn help them to be more aware of what they are eating.

This isn’t a perfect solution to the lack of time and stresses of everyday life in a blended family. However, most people eat a meal at the end of the work/school day so why not make it a joint family effort from beginning to end? The pay off is parents share quality time and kids have the chance to experience mutual respect, cooperation, appreciation, and the opportunity to prepare and eat a variety of healthy foods that they might just get to like.