05 May How Dining Together Affects Your Child’s Health
How Dining Together Affects Your Child’s Health
by Ashleigh Feltham, Accredited Practising Dietitian and Accredited Nutritionist.
Eating together as a family can sometimes seem more trouble than it is worth. Though making sure your children eat a balanced, healthy meal is vital, how your family eats also influences their health.
Create an Optimal Environment.
There is a lot of research that supports eating together as a family. Findings suggest dining together at the table positively influences the health of your children. Some of the benefits for children include:
- Higher intake of iron and fibre
- Increased fruit intake
- Increased vegetable intake
- Higher intake of calcium
In addition to these health benefits, children who eat as a family also consume less ultra-processed foods. This includes less sugary soft drinks.
The health benefits do not stop there. The extra effort it takes to eat as a family also benefits children in the following ways.
- Less likely to be overweight or obese
- Less likely to suffer from eating disorders, especially in girls
- Less likely to take drugs, smoke or drink
- Less likely to attempt suicide
So, what can you do as a parent or carer to help create this optimal food environment at meal times? The process can be as simple as one small change at a time. Over time, these small changes will lead to large benefits. Some ideas include:
- Eat one meal a day at the table together as a family. If this is a big change for your family, start with one meal a week. Switch off the TV and put away any phones and distractions to encourage mindful eating and allow space for discussion.
- Try eating breakfast as a family, even if this includes just one parent or carer. Organising this may mean waking up a little earlier, but the long-term health benefits are worth it.
- Plan meals with your children. It is a great learning opportunity about the nutritional value of certain foods, teaching them the important life lesson of making the right dietary choices.
- Involve your children in preparing meals. You will be preparing them to cook for themselves one day, a skill that is diminishing in the 21st century. A simple meal idea to get them started is a healthy, long-life soup. Complete the meal with two slices of wholegrain crispy bread topped with cheese.
- Give each family member a different role in the meal. For example, meal prep, cooking, setting the table or cleaning up.
- At the start of the week, discuss the meals you will eat together as a family. A healthy discussion around food allows you to demonstrate discernment in choosing recipes. You may even learn new ways to prepare and cook.
Remember that children learn through imitation. If you only drink soft drinks at mealtime, you cannot expect your children to make a healthy choice. By looking after your own health and choosing a diet that allows you to be the healthiest you can be, you are helping your children to do the same.plant foods will help your gut microbiome to thrive and consequently have a positive impact on your brain health and function, as well as your immunity.
Take home message
Together, you can create a healthy home environment. Work with your children to help everyone in the family be the healthiest they can be for life.
References:
- Veugelers PJ, Fitzgerald AL. Prevalence of and risk factors for childhood overweight and obesity. CMAJ. 2005 [cited 2011 Dec 27];173(6):607-13.
- Neumark-Sztainer D, Hannan PJ, Story M, Croll J, Perry C. Family meal patterns: associations with sociodemographic characteristics and improved dietary intake among adolescents. J Am Diet Assoc. 2003 [cited 2011 Dec 27];103(3):317-22.
- Larson A, Nelson M, Neumark-Sztainer D, Story M, Hannan PJ. Making time for meals: meal structure and associations with dietary intake in young adults. J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 [cited 2011 Dec 27]:109(1):72-9.