#6  Family Meal Times

 Family Dinnertime is fast disappearing from American culture.  Much more than nutrition is lost , not just for the young child, but for the whole family: the warmth of deep connection, a felt-experience of life-threads cocreating who we are, a sense of belonging, and more. For a deeper dive into Why family dinnertime is so crucial, go to the #6 Video on this Family Life thread.  For now, though, here are some simple tips to bring warm hearts and joyful smiles to your family dinner time.  These are tips from the Heaven on Earth Workbook How To Create Your Family Culture.  See the Books section.

Watchword for Mealtime:

THINK

• De-stress dinnertime by thinking ahead: make a family meal chart.

• Seven categories of dinners, one for each night of the week

• How about pasta, stir- fry, roast, soup and salad, burgers, Crock Pot, and so forth? What types and categories of food does your family like?

• Find three or four yummy recipes in each category. Voilà! You now have nearly a month of recipes, all within your own family‘s categories.

• Make your shopping list by looking at your meal chart and your recipes. Shop once a week . . . what a concept!

Watchword for Mealtime: TALK

• Dinner conversation brings huge gifts for our child!

• Language acquisition: your child’s vocabulary will be enriched far more by sitting at a dinner table with intelligent parents, who speak using a full-range vocabulary, than by years of vocabulary tests!

• Hearing full thoughts spoken in full sentences ~ in the world of info-bytes, texting and tweeting ~  is crucial.

• Through imitation, your child learns to form full thoughts and speak full sentences.

• The social graces of civil conversation are one of this society’s endangered species.

• Your child learns to listen, take in what another has said, and make a considered reply.

• Telling “when I was a little boy” stories at the table gives your child a new view of the long expanse of time.

Here is a bit of research about the many rewards of family mealtimes:

• Studies show that a common thread running through well-balanced families is mealtimes. Children benefit when we share at least three meals per week together:

• less chance of overweight

• healthier diet
• fewer behavioral problems

• more likely academic success

• greater sense of psychological wellbeing

• more positive family interactions

• Let’s Just Do It! Eat meals together! We can see clearly, from the above research, that family mealtimes nourish far more than our child’s nutritional needs. Their hearts, souls and minds are fed, as well.

See below a mealtime chart I drew for you; print it out, fill it in with your family’s favorite categories of food.  This planning will help you relax so your own mealtimes can become more simple and joyful!