Reasons to Eat Together as a Family

The family dinner as we know it is an occasion for everybody to come together as a group and sit, discuss their day and enjoy a meal. The family that we've grown up with on TV is often the catalyst for us feeling like we need everybody around the table to eat together. When you're just starting out and your babies are still in high chairs, that doesn't mean they can't join in with family meal time. 

Eating together as a family is one of the only times of the day that everybody comes together in one place to have a conversation. This is especially the case when you have teenagers. Whether you have a six seater dining table or you have something smaller with high chairs on either side for the new babies, you need to think about why coming together as a family is a great idea. Let's take a look at the best reasons to eat together as a family so that you all feel connected.

1. You can build excellent family relationships. Eating meals together has the potential to strengthen bonds and when you have a new baby coming, you want to be able to get that practice in places as early as possible. Once they can start moving on to solid foods from milk at six months, having the babysitter at the table with you is a great idea. Even if all they do is play with food and they don't actually eat anything, that's fine, but the point is they get involved with the social aspect of having a family sitting around the table.

2. You can encourage healthier food choices. This is especially the case if you choose to serve meals family style where everybody helps themselves from dishes in front of them. Making sure that you have a rainbow of options for the kids and for the grown-ups is important. Teenagers and children who eat dinner with their families are more likely to consume more fruits and vegetables and less soda and fried foods. You can also use the family dinner time to talk about nutrition and healthy foods and what they mean.

3. You end up with secure kids. Children who are seeing their parents sit with them at the table, ask them questions about their day and enjoy a relaxed family meal time, are kids that grow up secure. They feel more comfortable knowing about the routines of their family and knowing that their parents are in a good relationship. This leads to them having better school grades because they are going to perform better at school knowing that they've eaten well, have gained their energy, and they feel happy and secure with the family that they've got.

4. There are great opportunities for flavour expansion. Family meals are the perfect opportunity for parents to expose their kids to different foods. As long as you are letting the kids know that all they have to do is try it, they're going to feel happy and comfortable to do so.