Did you know that eating together as a family is validated by scientific research and greatly increases the capacity of your child and even yourself to thrive in all aspects of life?
This is the opposite of the average American who eats one in every five meals in their car or the one in four Americans that eats at least one fast food meal every single day of the week.
We do have time to eat together
If we stick with the standard breakfast, lunch and dinner, then there are potentially 21 meal opportunities to connect as a family. The majority of families in America,( you may be one of them) only take advantage of 3-4 of the opportunities.
Studies done at Columbia University demonstrated that children who regularly eat dinner with their parents (5 days or more per week) have less substance abuse, score better in academics, personally report a better and closer relationship with their parents and consume significantly less processed food and more fruits and vegetables compared to children who did not have the opportunity to eat with their parents.
Value of homemade meals
Often we use the excuse that we don’t have time to cook or go to the grocery store, or we say we don’t know how to cook. Thankfully, there are 1000’s of cookbooks available for all us, so that excuse isn’t valid. As far as taking the time to cook, of course, it is a matter of recognizing the value of food is to our body and to our family. Want to know what a balanced meal should look like? Check out this post on food hirarchy.
The time spent making an ingredient list, going to the grocery stores, preparing the food should not be a chore, it is an investment into the prosperity of your family. Grabbing teriyaki, pizza, happy meals on the way home may make everyone smile when you walk in the door but it is fleeting.
It starts with mindset
Make a point to see eating together, preparing food together not as something to get through, just another appointment but literally an opportunity to build up the spirit, mind, and body of each individual around the table and your family collectively.
