A psychologist and mama’s number one parenting hack to eating family meals…
Eating meals together as a family just might be the ultimate parenting hack. What else can you do in under an hour that has been shown to improve your kids’ academic performance, increase their self-esteem, and reduce their risk of depression, substance abuse, eating disorders, and obesity?
Over the last two decades, study after study has shown that simply taking a few minutes each day to turn off screens and genuinely connect with each other over food can improve the physical and mental health of all family members involved.
Not only do family meals help you connect and bond, but they’re also a great time for you to model healthy eating habits and encourage fussy eaters to try different foods. Our little ones are sponges. When they see us trying and enjoying different foods, they’re more likely to do the same and develop positive associations with food and mealtimes.
If you don’t usually eat together as a family, don’t panic! It’s never too late to start. You can start by scheduling just one meal per week and slowly build it up. And it doesn’t have to start with dinner…
For some reason when we think about a family meal, we immediately picture dinner. But, with our kids’ early bedtimes, you or your partner may get home from work too late for the kids to wait to eat with you. Or, although you may have your ‘kid friendly’ meal ready by 5:30pm, you probably only get a chance to cook your ‘adult’ meal after you’ve put your little ones to bed. With competing night-time schedules, work shifts and dinner preferences, eating dinner together as a family can be a logistical nightmare.
So, I thought I’d let you in on my number 1 hack to getting more family meals into the week….
What if we take the focus off dinner altogether and start with the first and most important meal of the day…. Breakfast.
Here’s why Breakfast is our favourite time to share meals together in our family:
1. Timing
Whilst we all have different dinner and bedtimes, we’re all up at the same time in the mornings (thanks to our human alarm clock in toddler form).
2. Ease
Unlike many dinner recipes, breakfast options like toast, cereal, yoghurt and fruit are all really simple meals that take minimal time to prepare and are crowd pleasers for kids and parents alike. This means that within the time it takes for a piece of bread to pop out the toaster, we can all be enjoying a fuss-free meal together at the breakfast table.
3. Mood
By dinnertime our little ones can already be irritable and hangry after a long day and mealtime becomes a battle pretty quickly. We still need to squeeze in a bath before the whole bedtime routine and don’t have the time or energy to sit down together for dinner. At breakfast time, our kids are their best selves, refreshed from a good night’s sleep and happy to get some food in their bellies.
4. Ritual
It’s a beautiful ritual to start the day together – instead of starting the day scrolling through our emails on our phone or putting the TV on as a distraction, we can tune into our kids. Start the day with connection.
Don’t worry if it’s not the whole family eating together every morning. During the week, one of you may need to get to work before the rest of the family is up. Even if it’s just you eating breakfast with the kids most weekday mornings, that’s still great! It’s just extra special when the whole family is together on the weekend – maybe you can even get the kids involved in making pancakes!
And if the idea of eating family meals together is new, start small! Start by aiming for just one meal in the week to
eat together.
Dr Rachel Cohen is a mama, clinical psychologist specialising in body image and eating disorders, and co-founder of Highchair Catchy – your dream come true for messy mealtimes. www.highchaircatchy.com
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