Involve Your Children in Family Mealtime

A good way to get young children excited about new foods and healthy eating is to get them involved in the kitchen. Young children like to imitate their parents, and this is especially true during meal planning and food preparation.

Young children can:

·         wipe and help set the table,

·         select fruits or vegetables for the meal,

·         rinse vegetables and fruits,

·         snap green beans,

·         stir pancake batter, and

·         help assemble a pizza and make sandwiches.

Parents need to remember some safety tips when children are in kitchen:

·         Cook with pots and pans on the back burners.

·         Keep hot dishes where children cannot touch or pull them down on top of themselves.

·         Children should not remove cooked food from the microwave.

·         Keep knives and other sharp objects out of children’s reach.

Benefits of Family Mealtime

Families can experience the positive benefits of family meals by eating together at least four to five times per week:

• If possible, start eating meals together as a family when your kids are young. This way, it becomes a habit.
• Plan when you will eat together as a family. Write it on your calendar!
• During the meal focus on each other. Turn off the television. Take phone calls later.
• Talk about fun and happy things and make meal time stress-free.
• Encourage your child to try foods, but do not lecture or force your child to eat.

Family Mealtime

    In addition to improved communication with family, studies show that children who sit in on family meals eat healthier diets and perform better in school, according to Amanda Scott, an AgriLife Extension program specialist in the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education program.

    “Research shows that compared to children who seldom participate in family meals, children who sit down to regular family meals consume more fruits, vegetables and fiber, consume less soda and fried foods, and eat less heart-damaging saturated and trans fats,” she said. “Families who eat together also have more time and opportunities to communicate and build relationships, and these children tend to perform better academically.”

    Scott said families can experience the positive benefits of family meals by eating together at least four to five times per week.

    “If possible, start eating meals together as a family when your kids are young. This way, it becomes a habit,” she said. “Plan when you will eat together as a family by writing it down on a calendar. Turn off the television and cell phones, and focus on each other. Talk about fun and happy things, and make mealtime stress-free.”

    Children should be encouraged to try new foods, but not be lectured or forced to eat them, she said.

    Sharon Robinson, an AgriLife Extension nutrition specialist, said that because they like to imitate their parents, a good way to get young children excited about healthy foods is to eat healthy food themselves. Make sure healthy foods are available for snacking.

“Get your kids to help set the table and clean up after the meal to help make it a family event,” she said. “Involve them in selecting fruits and vegetables for the meal. Then get them to help rinse the produce, snap the green beans, stir the pancake batter or help assemble a pizza or sandwiches.”

Parents, though, should remember safety tips when children are in the kitchen, Robinson said.

“Cook with pots and pans on the back burners. Keep hot dishes where children cannot touch or pull them down on themselves. Don’t have them remove food from the microwave, and keep knives and other sharp objects out of their reach.”

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posted by Dianne Gertson