Meals Together Nourish the Family

Several studies have concluded that families who share meals may find nourishment beyond good health. That's all well and good, but how do you arrange your family's hectic schedule to gather everyone together? And how do you get past the younger children's whines of "I don't like that!" or the teenagers' monosyllables to enjoy real mealtime sharing?

Make family meals a priority

The first step toward establishing a regular family meal is to make it a priority. If Wednesday evenings are always booked, how about scheduling Sunday mornings? The family meal doesn't have to be dinner time; just make it a regular time.

By involving all family members in the meal planning, preparation, and cooking, they're more likely to enjoy meals together. For example, children often are more willing to eat foods that they personally have selected at the grocery store and prepared in the kitchen.

Here are other ways that family members can be involved when it's not their turn to plan and cook the meal:

• Let the toddlers help out by bringing napkins and condiments to the table, and let the school-age children create paper placemats or colorful table settings.
• Let the teenagers select the dinner music; their choices may surprise or delight you! Then, let the adult family members select dinner music from the time that they were teens; how similar or different are the choices?
• Let the senior members of the family provide recipes that have been handed down through generations.

When everyone participates, the meal becomes richer.

Share family stories

A recent report by two psychology professors at Emory University showed that shared meals had a significant impact on families with pre-adolescent children. The children learned more about their family history, found better ways to get along or cope with classmates, and were more resilient in times of change or adversity. Each of these results contributed to the children's overall self-esteem.

Here are suggestions for sharing your family stories around the dinner table:

• Ask the children how school was that day, and really listen to what they have to say.
• Talk about all kinds of topics, both upcoming and past events.
• Tell stories about the family, such as where grandparents grew up, how they met, what their parents did for a living.
• Talk openly about positive and negative situations. Don't pretend that bad things never happen.
• Tell stories about how family members or personal heroes have overcome obstacles in their lives.

Enjoy healthy benefits

According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, family meals have a significant impact. For example, children and teens:

• Are less likely to smoke, drink, or use drugs, and are less likely to have friends who use drugs
• Are less likely to be at risk for thoughts of suicide
• Have lower levels of stress at home
• Are more likely to say that their parents are proud of them and that they can confide in their parents
• Are more likely to get better grades in school
• Have healthier eating habits

Also, a study reported in the Obesity Research journal indicates that when mothers place importance on family meals together, the children are less likely to be overweight. Researchers speculate that this may reflect a stronger focus on nutrition, as well as the emotional support that comes with stronger family ties.

For more information

After enjoying your meal together, you should remind everyone to brush their teeth. Also, you might find the following websites useful:

• Family Day, sponsored by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at http://www.casafamilyday.org/pages/about.html
• "A Family Guide to Keeping Youth Mentally Healthy and Drug Free," sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services at http://www.family.samhsa.gov/get/mealtime.aspx
• Child Trends Data Bank at http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/indicators/96FamilyMeals.cfm