Saturday, October 27, 2012

Where Has The Family Dinner Gone?




Why have families gotten away from eating dinner together these days? The reasons are plentiful: lots of after school activities, both parents working longer hours and having longer commutes, kids would rather eat in front of the computer/game console/TV, no one having the time to actually prepare the meal and the list could go on and on.
When I was a kid, we ate together at least 5 or 6 nights a week and those dinners normally took place at home. Most families I knew did the same thing. If we went out to eat, we would still go out together. Many times these days, I will see families eating at a restaurant and each member of the family is on a different "device" whether it be a handheld gaming system or cell phone, checking the internet or texting. It seems sad that as a culture we have gotten away from the family meal and just the face to face time that it brings.

A lot of research has been done on this very topic and the results are fairly unanimous: eating together as a family, particularly in the home environment on a regular basis, brings many benefits- in the realm of healthier eating choices, better parent/child relationships, and emotional well-being.
Here are a few articles that examine this topic:

http://healthland.time.com/2012/04/24/why-families-who-eat-together-are-healthier/

http://www.sparkpeople.com/resource/nutrition_articles.asp?id=439

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/its-not-just-baby-fat/201111/the-family-eats-together-stays-healthy-together

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/04/120423184157.htm

http://dinnertrade.com/568/interesting-statistics-on-family-dinners

So, what can be done to help make family dinners happen more often? With the fast-paced lives most people maintain these days, it can be quite difficult. Prioritizing activities, limiting gaming/screen time and  planning meals ahead with easy yet nutritious recipes can go a long way to achieving this goal.

2 comments:

  1. Hi erin! Thanks for stopping by my blog and following along! I use the canon T2i. I think it's a great camera.

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  2. With two toddlers (one who is crazy picky), we eat separately most of the time so that my toddlers get food that they will eat. We do sit down all together at least a couple times a week - but one plate doesn't get touched! We're hoping to make some progress soon!

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