Family Meals Enrich Children’s Behavior
Eating with our family members is one of the healthiest habits we can practice, but unfortunately our current and modern lifestyle does not make it easy for us to eat and dine with our children. This situation pushes us that the little ones have to eat in the school dining room and we, the adults, in our work or the office, almost always badly and quickly.
Our grandparents have shared with us ad nauseam how important it is to reunite the family and maintain this pleasant and loving routine. Many of us answered that “it is not so bad ” or we simply did not understand the importance of this experience, but thanks to several studies we have discovered that our grandparents were too right in their words. What are those healthy lifestyle habits that we achieve for our children by eating as a family?
They help to acquire good eating habits
It is clear that on weekends and the odd working day we have to do everything possible to get together as a family sharing a table for lunch, breakfast or dinner. An important requirement that many of us overlook during this special moment is eating with the television off, since in this way we are more encouraged to have conversations with our own, improving our health and inner well-being.
An investigation carried out by the University of Illinois in the United States on the relationship between family meals and children’s health collected data on the main eating habits and health of 180,000 children and adolescents from different North American states.
It was shown that when children eat as a family they consume more fruits and vegetables, thus reducing the risk of overweight among young people. Always keeping in mind that parents follow a balanced diet as well.
Reduce the risk of possible addictions and eating disorders
Family gatherings over lunch were also found to decrease the risk of addiction in adolescence. This condition happens since trust is what is enriched in these meals and meetings, enabling a communication channel that otherwise and only by inertia would close little by little.
It was also possible to extract that we improved our diet since with three weekly family meals we reduced the consumption of unhealthy foods by 20% and increased the consumption of balanced and healthy foods, such as vegetables and fruits.
On the other hand, we found that eating together reduces the incidence of eating disorders in childhood and adolescence. The risk of a teenager bingeing, vomiting, or dieting for no medical reason decreases by 35%.
Increase academic success
This research carried out at the University of Illinois confirmed that when we eat as a family, without watching television and have conversations with our children, it increases the motivation of our children for educational tasks. This is so, because in many of these conversations the children collect social recognition of their effort and obtain guidelines for improvement, compared to those that are not resistant because the context in which they assimilate them is one of relaxation.
It is clear that eating as a family benefits our children incredibly, but to achieve healthy lifestyles and a balanced diet for them and ourselves as adults we not only have to get together. It is important to remember that parents have to be the first to set an example when it comes to acquiring these healthy habits and sharing them with our little ones.
A balanced and healthy diet consists of the consumption of diverse and varied foods and always consuming them in a balanced way. The trick is not to eat small amounts, but to eat with nutritional and emotional quality, enjoying the same menu together.
Research conducted at the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the United States showed that children who participate in preparing family meals consume more vegetables and protein than those who do not, in addition to developing a greater positive feeling towards food healthy.
A tip that I can give you from here is that if you motivate your children to participate in the preparation and preparation of meals, you are allowing them to become familiar with food and learn to understand and make their own what a healthy diet is. of another that it is not. In this way, you contribute to improving their life, both externally and internally.
