With the modern rhythm of life, it is less and less common for families to get together at a meal table. And it happens that everyone seems to be at home, but they dine separately – someone in the kitchen, someone at the computer or TV.
Psychologists strongly recommend returning joint feasts to the former family way of life. To help them – the results of recent research by Canadian scientists from the University of Montreal. They managed to prove that children who usually eat with their family are much healthier than those who do not.
In the study, they studied children aged 5 months to 10 years and found that toddlers were more active, less aggressive, had better mental health, and were less likely to consume fast food and soda if they regularly shared meals with their family members. …
“The presence of parents during meals provides direct social interaction for young children and provides an opportunity for discussions on social issues and everyday issues in a familiar and emotionally protected environment.” – says Professor Linda Pagani.
And he adds: “These positive social experiences are likely to further help the child communicate better with others outside the family. Our findings suggest that family meals are not only markers of the quality of the home environment, but also improve children’s well-being. “
Arguments for Family Dinners:
- Calm communication with each other
A family dinner is a great opportunity to meet and talk to each other. Try to introduce a rule – do not share bad news at the table, let it happen before or after meals. Discuss your future plans, sporting successes, plan family trips. Let children always associate family dinners with positive conversations and delicious meals.
- Respect for parents by children
When you eat together every day, children learn to respect and appreciate both parents. At such a moment, they feel the importance of everyone in the family. And they appreciate that both parents, despite their busy schedule, devote precious time to support this tradition.
- Eating healthy food
The most healthy products and dishes are served on the table at which the children sit. And when adults sit down at the same table, willy-nilly, they also have to eat cheese cakes, not sausage sandwiches, and fresh vegetable salads instead of fried potatoes.
- Family cohesion
People who break bread together are somehow forced to establish contact with each other.
- Learning good manners
So children quickly understand how to handle a knife and fork, whether it is possible to sit at the table unkempt, whether it is worth sitting at the table with your feet. In addition, common meals will also teach punctuality – after all, the one who is late for dinner makes everyone else starve.
- Forming good memories
When the children grow up, they will never be able to erase these precious family dinners from their memory. They will remember how important it is for the whole family to sit down at the table at least once a day, and will certainly teach their own children to do the same.