Dr. Mercola
Solitary room has for busy families find it difficult to make time for family meals more often, especially if all adult family members work outside the home.
Traditional family meals accounted for more than a common room are a time for good conversations, and links to the royal family.
Unfortunately, today many meals are eaten at red lights or in front of the computer alone. The United States ranks among the 23 countries in the 25 percent of children, the main meal of the day with their parents eat several times a week. 1
Although solitary meals occur on a regular basis now, but recent studies have shown that you do not or to help the welfare of their children. Families who enjoy making the effort to eat together at least three or four times a week significant benefits for your health, happiness and relationships.
The division in the preparation and cooking of interest has traditionally been overshadowed by the desire of convenience foods in recent decades, although the evidence suggests that these trends could begin to reverse itself.
If you eat alone, you have many companies
The family meal bottomed out in the 1950s, when people started to think about cooking dinner for the family as a major drawback. As food has become more readily available and can be stored in the freezer and pantry, the idea of cooking from scratch has been almost a thing of the past.
Maybe people are starting to offer meals to lose the safety and socialization, the family. Research on food trends varied, indicate that values and attitudes can change.
The relative scarcity of shared family meals are associated with a lack of desire for them, people always say that you have good memories of their childhood while eating together.
Several recent studies show how American families are struggling to find time to eat together. In thinking about these statistics take into account that 27 percent of households consist of one person living alone. 2
- A new report by NPD in March found that Americans consume more than half of their meals alone; People are less likely to eat alone and more likely to eat breakfast and lunch (see chart). 4
- A study in 2014 found that the majority of American households eat together less than five days a week. 5
- A 2013 Harris Poll found that among the six Americans with at least one member of the family living, only 58 percent say the food with the other at least four times a week, but the proportion of 86 per cent yield dinner at least once a week together. The survey also found that the frequency of family meals with each generation decreases.
Source: The NPD Group / National Eating Trends ® Advanced
Children living with their families eat healthier eating habits and obesity less
2013 documentary The family meal on the relationship between the epidemic of childhood obesity and the role of the dinner with the family could fight they play focused.
Research shows that children who have family meals together three or more times a week are more likely in a healthy weight range and have better food choices. They are more healthy and less likely that the wrong foods to eat, and to eat less likely to develop eating disorders. 7
Interestingly, a study by Cornell University found that eight families (two adults and children), the dinner in the kitchen or in the dining room eating a significantly lower that families who eat elsewhere IMC. For children who remain at the table until all are done with the diet was associated with lower body mass index.
Researchers reported at the European Conference on Obesity 9 that children, at least once eat dinner with their parents in the week, 40 percent are more likely to be overweight than those who do. This might say something about the importance of family rituals and routines for the emotional health of children. Referring to the predictable family routines 10 Science Daily reported:
"The researchers believe that to be early predictable support in life with regular participation in family routines by encouraging and caring environment, what greater family organization and can provide a sense of security and belonging. This can have a positive impact on the socio-emotional health the children before school entry and contribute to their school life and future success. "
Eat the psychological costs alone
Children who eat with their families, are not only less obesity, less profit, but also psychosocial and behavioral problems are very deep. For example, young people who with their families, eat at least five times a week are 40 percent more likely to get A and B in school than their peers who do not share family meals. . They are also 42 percent less likely to drink alcohol, 59 percent less likely to smoke cigarettes, 66 percent less likely to try marijuana, and tend to be less depressed 11 Other research shows that each additional family meals, the adolescents: 13th December
- Improved self-esteem and life satisfaction
- Behavior self-assured and helpful, others and better relationships with their parents
- Vocabulary and better academic performance
- Absenteeism and lower teen pregnancy 14
- Increased stress resistance
Family meals help to convey the culinary traditions of Health
The benefits of family meal not only time spent eating together, but also from the time that the purchase of food, preparing meals, cleaning, maintenance and even a garden. Involve your children teaches them about nutrition and how to work together as a family. Children can also learn environmental awareness and the importance of food and supporting organic and sustainable farms.
Common meals gives you the opportunity along recipes and family traditions special type of learned your mother or grandmother. You can teach your children, soaked the importance of the process for the preparation of traditional foods, such as fermentation, the juice, sprouts, nuts and raw food preparation. These lessons are invaluable for building a rich heritage of family and your children the tools they need to live a long and healthy life.
Family Eating less 'Dinner' and 'family' is
What is practiced in family meals, such as influence on our children? Or is the family meal ever? These are the questions that teachers Ann Meier and Kelly Musick tried to answer deeper into the data. The retired teacher variables such as income, time spent with children (meaning, tasks or activities, such as participation in extracurricular events), as children were monitored, and the overall quality of family relationships. Once these factors have been deducted, discusses the family meal has an impact on the mental health and behavior of children.
Musick Meier and published the results in the Journal of Marriage and the Family, and the results may surprise you. 15, 16 do not conclude that it is the family ties that count in other words, less family dinner food. about the "dinner" and "family". They identified the essential requirement as follows :. "The impact of family meals in children depends on the extent to which parents use the time to talk with their children and learn about their daily lives" 17
So, if your family consists of dinner upset about unfinished tasks and duties, or text messages to all table, or if there is a fight, everyone to get dinner on the table, it is unlikely that you will see the most benefit. But if your food is pretty full of sharing and genuine empathy and connection, and everyone is on board, the benefits are many. Not to reduce these data the importance of eating together for the physical health of your child and encourage appreciation and education about food. But when it comes to psychosocial factors and the dynamics of the relationship, there is more than just sharing space on the table.
Clever Conversation Starters Lunch
If you are looking for ideas on how to eat your family to bring more meals together, family meals project could be useful (DPF). 18th The FDP is a resource to help families "to improve the frequency and quality of their interactions to lunchtime. "Your site contains a wealth of advice to kids of all ages throughout the process of food preparation through fun dinner games, recipes, ideas for conversation age and the instructions for activating engage your own kitchen in a makeshift camp Iron Chef ! As for the table talk at dinner, columnist and author Bruce Feiler three interesting strategies to increase the fun and meaningful time to talk about the family: 19
- Word Update: Since your child should know about 3,000 words per year, a word, a day in the seminar table you. Feiler suggests a diary or journal on the table and ask each person to find a word that is not known. Googling in this case allowed.
- Autobiography Night: Encourage your child stories about how he overcame his past success or failure will drive to encourage him to say, tell the future performance of "who, what, when, where, why" history dinner.
- Pain points. Focusing on a current "pain point", which is essentially a difficult situation for all, for example, has your daughter, a project with someone you do not like to do, or your teen does not find a match dancing. In the debate, the members of the family share their own experiences and come together to dissect to teach the dilemmas and possible solutions, the children-good problem solving skills. If someone has a pain point, could you talk about a current event.
Tips to connect with your child or teenager
In the complex world of today, there are many forces pulling in family relationships, especially when children are in puberty. Even the best parents can sometimes be challenged to find a way to connect with young people. John Gottman, Gottman Institute recommends that you at least five positive interactions for every negative, in every respect, which I think is good advice. 20th If you are having trouble connecting with their younger family members around the table, have dinner or elsewhere, you should find the following ten principles, the center of compassion, communication and commitment helpful. 21
1 Accept the temper of their children Spend time with their children 2 3 Touch intentionally to their children every day 4 Teach your children important values and life lessons 5 tenaciously to their children 6 Encourage UNIQUE 7 stiffness caution 8 Hug rituals that promote coexistence To develop 9 Help for children LEGACY 10 model appropriate use of words in communicating with children and before them
More food for thought
Done for family gatherings, you should make a priority. One of my favorite sayings is: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail" and that certainly applies here. This allows you to eat your family together, not only in the store, allowing you to prepare food, but also the selection of a time that works for everyone in all cases.
You can not, because of the math club, football and cheerleading practice bring three teenagers, so much a family dinner? Schedule a weekly family breakfast or answer a bedtime snack. Even a meal at the weekend may have a positive effect. Be creative and make your meals regularly, stress-free and enjoyable as possible!