Food for Thought

Food for Thought: Benefits of Family Meal Time

STORY Bree James

It’s a dilemma many parents are facing. We hop into bed exhausted and feeling like we didn’t truly connect with our family that day. Why? Well, it’s probably because from the moment our eyes opened that day it’s been a never-ending mission of to do lists, organising schedules, planning meals, coordinating activities and ensuring your home doesn’t look like it’s been ransacked by wild monkeys.

In a world that is always “on”, it’s becoming more and more challenging to find quality time to connect in a meaningful way with our family.

If you are nodding your head like a bobble head in agreeance, then keep reading, we’ve got some advice for you.

It’s actually quite simple. Make a commitment to sit at the meal table with your family five times a week. No screens, no distractions, just you, your dinner and everyone fully present.

You may choose to do dinner five nights per week and Friday and Saturdays can be TV dinners. Or, maybe your partner does shift work so it’s only a few nights you can manage to dine together, and other days you do breakfast and a lunch. In reality, do what works for your family. Even if you can only manage to get everyone in the same room once a week, it’s something.

So, what’s the benefit?

Well, besides having an opportunity to be together with no distractions, there are a lot of benefits. Many studies have been done all over the world identifying the importance of family meal time. Here are six of our favourites.

1. Improved Academics

Children who ate with their family less than three times a week were twice as likely reported to receive C’s or worse in school. Children who ate with their family five to seven times per week did much better, achieving mostly A’s and B’s. Maybe spaghetti bolognaise is actually brain food!

Additionally, meal time discussions can reveal whether or not they’ve done their homework, problems with friends or teachers, etc.

2. Improved Mental Health

Children who regularly enjoyed family meals were less likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. It was also shown that they would have a lower chance of engaging in high risk behaviours such as substance use, violence, and were identified as having fewer psychological problems. 3. Lowered Teen Substance Abuse

Family dinners were strongly linked to minimising the risk for teen substance use. Surveys consistently found a relationship between children having frequent dinners with their parents decreased the risk of smoking, drinking or using other drugs during their teen years. They found that healthy open parental engagement fostered over the dinner table is one of the most important tools to help parents raise children who felt they could question, discuss, put forward ideas and talk about feelings and aspirations.

4. Deeper Relationships

Children who participated in frequent family dinners were one and a half times more likely to have said they had an excellent relationship with their parents. Regular inclusive meal times provide more opportunities for meaningful discussion.

5. Healthier Lifestyle

The studies found that families who ate together were twice as likely to eat their five servings of fruits and vegetables as families who didn’t eat together. Children who eat family meals tend to eat a wider variety of foods and become less picky eaters, and eat less during family meals because they eat slower and talk more. This in turn, is linked to preventing obesity.

6. Better Table Manners

During family meal times, parents can be role models and set an example of healthy eating and polite table manners. This helps children develop social skills that include manners and taking turns. Sure, it’s constant nagging to get them to sit still, use their cutlery, and make good food choices, which means adults need to be setting a good example.

At times, eating with your children can feel chaotic and not very beneficial. But family meals provide an opportunity for family members to come together, strengthen ties and build better relationships. Family meal times build a sense of belonging which leads to better self-esteem (even if they ruin yours by not liking the meals you cook).

In the end, it’s more important you are together connecting as a family rather than making an elaborate meal. We hope this has inspired your family to make family meals a priority in your household, without the TV and devices so that you can truly connect for that thirtyminute meal time. This commitment to family meals will benefit your whole family, and you’ll reap the rewards for generations to come.

Children who regularly enjoyed family meals were less likely to experience symptoms of depression and anxiety. It was also shown that they would have a lower chance of engaging in high risk behaviours such as substance use, violence, and were identified as having fewer psychological problems.