There are lots of benefits associated with consuming meals collectively as a family. However breakfast and lunch are usually not often a good time for the whole family to get together on account of conflicting schedules. Dinner is frequently one of the only times during the the day that the whole family spends time together. Which makes it the ideal opportunity obtain the following advantages from having a meal with everyone as part of your tribe
Eating Dinner Together Teaches Important Time Management Skills
Family dinners mean being home at a certain time. That goes for you as well as your children. If you stress the importance of being on time for dinner with the family, you and your children learn how to manage your time properly so that you do not sit down to a cold plate. This naturally leads to the next family mealtime benefit.
Planning Skills Get a Boost
To be on time for anything, you have to plan ahead. You have to look at all of the activities which lead up to that activity and plan accordingly. Eating dinner together as a family requires that everyone plans their day so nobody is waiting on them to arrive at the appointed time. Proper planning prevents poor performance, in this and other areas of your family’s lives.
It Cuts Down on Fast Food Meals
The drive-through can be deadly. Processed, fatty, salted, sugary, preservative-filled fast foods and other meals on the go can be super unhealthy. Planning, preparing, cooking and casually enjoying a healthy meal at the family dinner table together instills a healthy approach to nutrition in your children and yourself.
Children Learn to Love Their Vegetables
Research from a 2000 survey yielded some remarkable information regarding kids and vegetables. Children from 9 to 14 years of age that ate dinner with their families frequently ate much more healthy fruits and vegetables than their friends. They also ate fewer fried foods and drank less soda than the children in that survey that did not enjoy family dinner time together on a regular basis.
Communication Skills Are Improved
There is just something about sharing a meal with someone else that makes everyone at ease. This is because food gives you a sense of comfort. Your brain is rewarded with pleasure signals when you eat, because this is a healthy, required part of living. So you and your children feel happier and more content at mealtime, and since you are together, eating leads to talking and better communication.
Everyone Learns the Importance of Teamwork
Eating together should mean shopping, preparing and cooking together as well. And after dinner, the cleanup duties should also be shared. This shows the importance of teamwork in accomplishing common goals, and will benefit you and your children in other areas of your lives other than mealtime.