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Reviving the Family Meal By Rebecca Sweat Mealtime is important family time -- and not just on special occasions!
aiting in line at the grocery store checkout, the woman behind me pointed to the bags of apples, flour and sugar in my shopping cart and remarked, "Looks like you're going home to do some baking." "We're going to have apple pie for dessert after dinner tonight," I replied. "Dinner?" she asked in a surprised tone of voice. "Dinner with the whole family sitting around the table? About the only time my family eats dinner together anymore is at Thanksgiving."
Family members often have to eat their meals in shifts; Mom and one child may heat up frozen dinners before heading to music lessons, the teenage son may just pop a burrito in the microwave before going to swim practice, and Dad might have to work late and just grab a burger from a drive-through on the way home. "The stress and preoccupations of everyday life can make it difficult for parents and children to find time for family dinners," observes Tom Baranowski, Ph.D., a Baylor professor of pediatrics and psychologist with the Children's Nutrition Research Center's Behavioral Nutrition section. "Yet family dinners, and the talk that can happen there, are extremely important."
"Eating meals together as a family keeps the doors of communication open," adds Linda Brock, Ph.D., a smarriage and family therapist and assistant professor of family Sciences at Texas Women's University. "It's an ideal way to learn more about your children's likes, dislikes and daily life." Not only that, but by planning regular meals at home for the family, you can ensure that your children will be eating a well-balanced diet. Left to themselves to find something to eat kids are likely to choose a diet of toaster pastries, potato chips and frozen pizza.
Set your priorities If you and your family rarely have meals together, try to cut out some of your kids' extracurricular activities, optional night classes, meetings you might be involved with, overtime at the office, etc., to give you the time your family needs. "Strong family relationships are more important than chairing that fund-raiser or having your child play on another team," Brock says. Decide how many nights you'll eat together, and do it
Get everyone involved in meal preparation
Even young children can have a part to play. Sonia Miller of Chicago says her 5- and 7-year-old sons are great helpers. "They'll pitch in by filling the water glasses, rinsing raw vegetables, washing lettuce for a salad, serving dessert, and clearing the table," she relates. "It makes them feel needed, and it really does take some of the load off me." Be creative Try to come up with unique menus now and then -- just to make mealtime more fun. Backyard cookouts, TV trays on the porch and picnics in the park are all enjoyable meal alternatives for the summer months. Try ethnic food themes. One night everything you serve might be German and another night might be Italian or Chinese. Fondues, making personal pizzas together and Mexican dinners with plenty of tortilla chips and salsa are also fun. And they slow mealtime down, allowing for more time to talk. Eliminate distractions
Keep conversation pleasant Be ready with some good conversation starters. Ask your children how their own day went at school, get their thoughts about any interesting news stories you heard about today, talk about the family's plans for the weekend or elicit their ideas for family projects. If you heard a new joke or if something funny happened to you that day, share it.
Create traditions By creating family traditions with your meals, you provide your children with a sense of unity and stability for today, and happy memories for the rest of their lives. Traditions can be simple, like every Saturday morning, you have blueberry pancakes, or on Friday nights you have banana splits for dessert. Every Fourth of July you may have your special cake, decorated with strawberries and blueberries to look like the American flag. Maybe after church, your family always has a formal dinner with the good china, candles and a fresh flower centerpiece.
Choose easy entrées Even if you don't have a lot of time to cook, you can still have some wonderful family meals at home. Put a roast and some veggies in your Crock-Pot so that dinner is ready when you get home from work. Have a pizza delivered for dinner so all you have to do is make a salad. A "sandwich bar" is another easy dinner idea. Just pick up some croissants, hoagie buns, sliced meats and cheese, relish, lettuce and tomatoes, and arrange everything on the table assembly-line style. Take shortcuts, such as buying pre-washed lettuce for salad, brown-and-serve dinner rolls and precooked rotisserie chickens. Remember, what matters most is that the family gets together -- not that everything you serve has to be gourmet quality or homemade. Just keep in mind that, no matter the fullness of your schedule, family time is of the utmost importance. Pulling your family together over favorite meals (and desserts) will strengthen the family bonds, and create many memories. Bon appetit! Further reading Want to strengthen your family more? Read our free booklet . Copyright 2009 by United Church of God, an International Association All rights reserved. |
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