Baggarly: Creating family meal time

Today’s families are busier than ever! Children are involved in more extracurricular activities and parents have booming social lives, too. Parents are running their children here, and then running them there while also handling the laundry and pet care. If this sounds like your family, you are not alone.

Here are some mealtime statistics to consider:

The average parent spends 38.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children.

Family dinners are more important than play, story time and other family events in the development of vocabulary of younger children.

Frequent family meals are associated with a lower risk of smoking, drinking and using drugs. Additional associations include lower incidence of depressive symptoms, suicidal thoughts and better grades in children ages 11 to 18.

Adolescent girls who have frequent family meals and a positive atmosphere during those meals are less likely to develop eating disorders.

Children who eat most often with their parents are 40 percent more likely to say they get mainly As and Bs in school than children who have two or fewer family dinners a week.

Dinner with family can be a stress reliever. Believe it or not, if you have a demanding job, finding time to eat with your family may actually leave you feeling less stressed.

The benefits of sharing a meal together as a family are incredible. Not only can the family unit benefit, but so can the children and the overall health of the individual family members. Sharing a family meal provides an experience that touches all of our senses: sight, touch, smell and listening to warm laughter or good conversation.

Furthermore, family meals help provide a regular, consistent opportunity to create a shared experience that is meaningful and offer a sense of belonging to all.

Set a goal to have regular family meals at least three times per week. It’s OK if you aren’t having dinner together; the time a family spends together can be done during breakfast or lunch, as well as during a similar activity that encourages your family to come together.

Communication starts before meal time and continues afterward. Have children help in preparation, clearing and cleanup. Don’t present it as a chore, but as part of a group effort. Their participation makes them feel valued and respected.

Avoid criticism and passing judgment. Meal time is not a time for complaints or for too many questions.

Specific, non-judgmental remarks or questions can get children started talking. They’ll learn to take turns and listen to other’s valuable social skills in many situations.

Parents can share something interesting about their day, too. When parents talk about their experiences, they’re providing models of behavior and values.

Results of a survey conducted in 2000 showed that children ages 9 to 14 who ate dinner with their families most frequently ate more fruits and vegetables and less soda and fried foods.

Having the family eat together at home helps you control portion sizes. About 40 percent of a family’s food budget is spent on meals outside the home. Eating out can be convenient but it’s also high in calories. Portion sizes in restaurants keep growing. The average restaurant meal has as much as 60 percent more calories compared to a homemade meal.

Jan Baggarly is Bibb County Extension coordinator with the University of Georgia Cooperative Extension working in the field of Family and Consumer Sciences. Contact her at 478-751-6338 or uge2021@uga.edu.

This story was originally published October 14, 2014 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Baggarly: Creating family meal time ."