Tips to Make Family Meals Happen
Family mealtimes can be an opportunity to connect as a family. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the American Academy of Pediatrics report that routinely sitting down to family meals help strengthen your child’s social skills and improve their nutrition and eating habits. Regular family meals are shown to help increase your child’s intake of fruits, vegetables, and dairy and can promote healthy eating behaviors. Children who eat family meals seem to do better in school, have higher self-esteem and are less likely to smoke cigarettes or use drugs compared with children who do not eat dinner with their families. Despite the benefits, less than fifty percent of children eat dinner with their family every night. For many families, work schedules, after-school activities, sports practices, teen’s jobs, and volunteer work can get in the way. Here are ten tips to help make family meals happen and to develop healthy eating habits:
1. Follow a regular meal schedule. Include three meals, 2 -3 snacks, and every three to four hours. Let the family know the meal schedule so everyone can arrange their schedules around it.
2. Keep it Simple! Family meals do not have to be fancy. If planning a weekly menu feels overwhelming, then plan for 2 – 3 days at a time and use or serve leftovers the other days. Be sure to serve a balanced meal including whole grains such as brown rice, whole wheat pasta, sweet potato, or bulgar, proteins like beans, meat, chicken, fish, milk, yogurt, and/or cheese, fruits, vegetables, and a tad of monounsaturated fats like avocado, olive oil, flax seed, or canola oil.
3. Avoid commenting on your child’s eating habits. All foods fit in! Be neutral about all foods. Avoid forcing your child to eat certain foods, like vegetables, because your child will only resist. Know the division of responsibility: You, as the parent, have done your job by preparing and serving the meals on time and your child is responsible for whether they will eat and how much.
4. Make one meal for the whole family. Don’t short order cook! Making separate meals can be exhausting and denies your child from trying a new food. Serving one meal allows your child to explore new foods while seeing other members of the family eat the same foods, making new foods safe to try.
5. Get your kids involved in meal planning, shopping, prepping, and cooking. This doesn’t only make your job easier; it also teaches your children that taking the time and effort to eat together as a family is important. Let your child help you plan the menu, or shop for a new fruit or vegetable to serve, or with washing or cutting vegetables if age appropriate. Kids are more likely to eat the foods they have helped prepare.
6. Make family meals fun. Choose a theme like make your own pizza night, or ethnic cuisine like Chinese, Mexican, or Italian night, have a picnic, or serve family style. Engage in conversation and allow each person share something about their day or week. Family meals are a great way to get to know what is going on in your child’s life.
7. Family meals are an opportunity for parents to be role models. Our food behaviors and beliefs are passed down from one generation to the next. Examine your own beliefs, attitudes, and eating habits. Don’t be afraid to seek professional help for developing a healthy relationship with foods.
8. Be the gatekeeper. Instead of worrying about all the sugar your child may be eating, fill your home with a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and dairy products. Allow for sweets in the context of eating well-balanced meals and nutrient dense foods throughout the day.
9. Allow for sweets in moderation. Six to ten percent of your child’s daily intake can come from added sugar or less nutrient dense foods like chips, cookies, or sugar sweetened cereals. Avoid keeping your house sterile as children can become overly preoccupied when certain foods are restricted or forbidden.
10. Eat out or bring in less. We have gone from hunting and gathering our food to ordering online and having it delivered. Sure, this has made life more convenient and easier; however, it is quite costly, made our lives more sedentary, and may lack the nutrition your family meals can provide over time.
Above all else, family meals provide an opportunity to connect with each other, feed your family nutritious meals, and teach your children healthy eating habits and behaviors. Start a new family meal tradition today. Make a commitment to eating at least one meal together each week. Soon your family will look forward to family meals.
References:
https://www.eatright.org/food/planning/meals-and-snacks/family-meals-small-investment-big-payoff
https://www.parents.com/kids/nutrition/healthy-eating/get-your-kids-to-eat-better/