The American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences is sponsoring “Dining In Day” today, Dec. 3, to celebrate and promote the experience of families preparing and eating healthy meals together.
Research shows that families that eat meals together tend to eat healthier foods, talk to one another and share family traditions.
The following information was taken from an article titled “Family Mealtime” written by Sandra J. Bailey, Lynn Paul and Phyllis Dennee with Montana State University Extension.
Families that spend mealtimes together reap numerous benefits, including time to share daily activities, a time to build family traditions, a way to learn about family heritage and a time for parents to model good eating habits.
The idea of gathering the family together in the same place at the same time in the 21st century may seem impossible for many, but it can be done. Eating together as a family may not look like Sunday dinners of a generation ago; however, the goal can still be the same.
Families today come in a variety of forms: two-parent, single-parent, stepfamilies, grandparents raising grandchildren and families where the parents are cohabitating. In the majority of families today, the parents work outside the home. Additionally, many teens have jobs after school. It is difficult for families to find time to spend together, and family mealtime is a perfect opportunity to draw the family together.
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