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As modern lifestyles get more and more fast paced, families need to ensure that they are taking some time off everyday to spend time with each other and connect. One of the best ways to do this is to have at least one meal together, as a family. As a parent, it is your responsibility to ensure that the members of your family are well-connected with each other and there is clear communication. Sharing a meal together with your family will give you the time and opportunity to know what’s happening in your kid’s life and how you can help them. Read on to know the benefits of having a meal together as a family and how you can make the most out of it.
1. Eating Together Promotes Healthier Eating Habits
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It has been proven that eating together as a family can help improve the eating habits of your kids, especially the adolescents (1). Kids who have at least one meal together with their parents are more likely to have their fruits and vegetables rather than relying only on packaged food. Moreover, even if you have certain functional issues in your family, sharing a meal with your kids will help you improve their eating habits.
2. Eating Together Can Help With Mental Health Disorders
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According to a review done by Canadian researchers in 2015, eating one meal together as a family can help prevent suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, depression, violent behavior, and eating disorders; especially in adolescents (2). The best part about this is the meal can be any meal of the day and does not have to be dinner necessarily. As a parent, you can ask everyone to keep their phones away while sharing a meal and talk about how everyone’s day went. This would also help you bond better as a family and create an atmosphere of safety and security.
3. Eating Together Can Help Boost Your Child’s Self Esteem
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While growing up, children often deal with issues of self esteem. Kids who become victims of bullying at school might also face similar issues. Eating together as a family can help you increase your child’s self esteem and make them confident about themselves. You can learn why your child is questioning their self worth while having a conversation with them over a meal and help them understand their value. Listening to words of encouragement and kindness from you can help your children deal with their self esteem problems better and turn into more confident individuals.
4. Eating Together Can Establish Better Relationships With Your Children
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As children grow up, they often drift apart from their parents. This happens especially with adolescents. A good way to deal with this problem is to have a meal together everyday. When you sit down together with your children and share a meal it is only natural that communication will happen and the distance between you and your kids will not increase. If you find your child is disinterested in having a conversation with you, that can also be addressed in these meal sessions. You would have a better understanding of what is going on in their lives when you engage in conversation with them. This will ensure that you have a healthy relationship with your children and they can approach you with any trouble that they may be having.
5. Eating Together Can Improve Your Child’s Communication Skills
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A lot of children face issues with communication. As a parent, it is your responsibility to help them overcome this issue as otherwise they might face troubles in school and other social settings. If you share a meal everyday with your children, it will ensure that you are communicating with them enough to help them deal with their conversational skills. You can talk about a variety of topics and that would help your child speak better and convey their thoughts. Lacking communication skills can cause serious problems later in life and it is better if it is addressed right at home, from an early age.
These are some of the major benefits of eating together as a family. However, since every family is different, there can be various other perks of having the meals together. No matter how busy you are, as a parent, you should try to sit down with your children at least once a day and talk to them. You should keep the phones away and make sure everyone is participating in the conversations. This would also help to keep the family close and tight. What are your experiences of having meals with your children? Let us know in the comment section below!
