NOURISH
The magic of family mealtime
With hectic daily
schedules, sitting down at a table for a family meal may seem like a thing of
the past. However, many studies show that regularly eating family meals
together has many benefits for children and parents alike.
Some of these
benefits are:
- Regular meals eaten
together can increase your child's feelings of security and togetherness.
- Eating together
encourages healthy eating habits, increasing your child's exposure to a wide
variety of foods and creating positive feelings toward food. Children with
family meals also tend to eat more fruits and vegetables, eat fewer fried foods
and soft drinks, are less likely to be overweight and take healthy eating
habits with them into adulthood.
- Meals are a chance
for family to talk and connect. Research shows that dinner conversations can
help boost your child's vocabulary and may even lead to better academic
success.
- Kids who regularly
eat dinner with their parents experience less stress and have a better
relationship with their mom and dad.
To help you make
family mealtimes a part of your routine:
- Treat mealtime as
quality time to connect with your family.
- Mealtimes can
include more than just dinner. A family breakfast, weekend brunch or Saturday
lunch work just as well, as long as it's part of your family's routine.
- Set consistent meal
times. Follow a schedule of three meals a day with two or three snacks per day
whenever possible.
- Eat meals at a
table where everyone has their own space.
- Turn off all
electronic devices and eliminate distractions.
- Encourage your
child to participate in meal preparation and clean up.
- Have fun with food
presentations and give kids a chance to explore and experiment with food
choices.
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How to talk to your children about tragedies in the media
Posted May 29, 2020
Recent community events in Minnesota are challenging for all of us. But, scenes of peaceful protests, death, rioting and violence, can be especially confusing and troubling for our children to understand and talk about. Like most of us, many young people have likely seen the video showing the death of George Floyd and witnessed its aftermath in our community. How do you as a parent talk about the many tough issues of this tragedy with your children? What should you say and share about what your children are seeing in the news? Allina Health Psychologist Linda Deters offers some advice.
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