celebrate at home - go for the greens

Nutrition events

Go for the Greens - Celebrate at home

Why are Family Meals important? (www.family-mealtimes.org)

A growing body of research shows that regular family mealtimes have a positive impact on all aspects of a child's development – physical, mental, behavioral, social, and educational.

The family meal has a significant positive impact on the nutrition quality of children's diets – increased consumption of fruits, vegetables and milk and less fried foods and soft drinks
Experts recommend encouraging family meals in which parents and children eat together
Children who have family meals growing up are more likely to eat regularly scheduled meals as adults; moreover people who snack absentmindedly instead of taking the time to sit down and eat don't do as well with diet quality and weight maintenance
Eating together every day is optimal; but experts believe that even just four family meals a week is a worthwhile goal
Kids who eat most often with their parents are 40% more likely to say they get mainly A's and B's in school than kids who have two or fewer family dinners a week

In addition to better nutrition, more control over the types of foods eaten and less weight gain for the whole family, sitting down to family meals also provide a sense of "family connectedness." A 2007 Columbia University study of more than 1,500 teens and parents, found that almost half of the teens participating felt that dinner was the best time to talk with parents about important issues.

The family meal is a time to build and share family values. From passing down tales, to sharing daily happenings and teaching children important socialization skills like starting a conversation and meal etiquette, family mealtimes are an important social developmental tool as well.

Following is a list of resources and tools to help families enjoy more mealtimes together.