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Increasing Family Meal Times

By Crystal Robertson, UT Extension Agent

With all of the opportunities and activities available for kids and teens now, is there any such thing as “family meal time” anymore? Though it may seem difficult to accomplish, there are many positive outcomes related to eating together regularly as a family. Try some of these suggestions to help make the impossible possible again.

• Be creative in setting meal times. Compare schedules. If everyone is booked solid, plan a late-night meal or family brunch together on the weekend, or eat late afternoon during the week before everyone departs again for evening activities. All family members should commit to being home for the family meal.
• Choose nutritious meals that are quick to prepare. When you have time to cook, prepare larger portions and save some for meals from left-overs.
• Involve your children. Teach them how to select a well-balanced meal and then let them help prepare it. They will be more likely to cooperate in family meals if they have some ownership in the process.
• Be selective in the activities you choose and set limits on the number of activities that your children can participate in. When every night of the week is filled with activities that keep the family from having time together, the family is too busy.
• Make family meals enjoyable, pleasant experiences for all members. Don’t use meal time to discipline children for behavior problems and avoid controversial or negative conversation topics. Set a time for those topics later.
• Turn off the TV! It limits conversation and often introduces upsetting images such as war coverage, murder, wrecks, and other unpleasant topics.
• Don’t be a short order cook. Prepare one meal and offer it to family members.
• Avoid monitoring your children’s food intake at meal time. Prepare nutritious foods and allow the child to determine what, in what order, and how much to eat. If the child is a picky eater, don’t make that an issue. Pointing it out often leads to more, not less, picky behavior. If the child tends to overeat, serve the plates with servings of an appropriate size and allow seconds if requested.
• Don’t insist that children clean their plates.

More than a decade of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. In honor of family meal time, celebrate Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner with Your ChildrenTM on September 27th. This event was originated by CASA in 2001 to remind parents that frequent family dinners make a difference. This year’s celebration marks the 10th anniversary of this special day. Make plans now to eat together with your family September 27th and many other days throughout the year.