Why should families
have food together

I am the youngest and naughtiest in the family. I remember secretly eating kheer (sweet rice pudding) from Didi's (elder sister) bowl while having meals together with the family. But my mother would give her share of kheer to Didi. I realize that love is shared at the dining table, not just kheer. It was much more than only eating together. We shared our good, bad and learning moments of the day. I looked forward to it as it involved interesting episodes of life. 

Facts about family meals

Research shows a positive relation between frequent family meals and greater consumption of nutritious foods (i.e., fruits, vegetables, and calcium-rich foodstuffs). I emphasize freshly home-cooked family meals, as studies show nutrient and caloric intake at family meals depends on the foods served. Providing fast food and take-out food items at family meals may neutralize the nutritional benefits usually retained with home-cooked family meals.

Benefits of family meals

You will be amazed to know that the benefits of eating together as a family go beyond nutrition. Check some more inspiring benefits of family meals -

 

1. Less screen distraction

Are you conscious about your and your kids’ gadget time? These days kids are so addicted to phones that it will inhibit their development. Not only kids but adults too multitask by putting on the television and surfing their instagram simultaneously. Some adults put their naughty ones in front of the cartoon show on television and continue doing their work. The little brain of the kids is exposed to innumerable impressions. It may gradually cause Attention Deficiency Syndrome. 

How to put a full stop to excesses? Inspire all the family members to eat together at least once a day. Your children will eat food with taste and not just gobble food as they do while watching cartoons.

2. Opportunity to cherish traditional food 

Mothers often complain about their kids’ fast food habits. Experimenting with grandmother’s recipe with a new ingredient and creating a new presentation style are some ways to keep the family tradition alive. Food cooked by the mother but daily served by the children of the house is an encouraging step to bring them into service. It is an opportunity for you to praise them.

3. Controls waistline

Adolescence is the age of being conscious of looks. You recognize the power of eating together when you and your teens have a controlled waistline. Research suggests that family meals during adolescence are protective against obesity in teens.

4. Helps overcome addictions

Teens who get addicted are looking for happiness, fun and love. Family meals instill hope and love in them. It strengthens parent-child relations through open lines of communication while eating.

Sudarshan Kriya (SK) uses specific natural rhythms of breath. It reduces the stress hormone serum cortisol by 57% and increases the well-being hormone prolactin by 33% in SK practitioners.

5. Ignites family unity

Occasionally, my mother-in-law instructs all the males 😀 (eldest to the youngest) of the house to help cook and serve lunch 🍚for all. When all the members are convinced to get into a single activity, it rekindles a sense of unity. You may applaud for the fastest vegetable cutter or the chapatti roller to spice up the monotony. 

“Why only the lady of the house should cook?” Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar suggests, “Let the men cook that day.”

You can create some thrill in your family meals that you will cherish as memories later in life.

Wrapping up

Meals fill up your belly. But, family meals fill you up with love, enthusiasm and belongingness.

 

Inspired by Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s wisdom talks

Written by: Pratibha Sharma

Reference links

Factors influencing children’s eating behavior.

The protective role of family meals for obesity in teens.

Related link

“Stop ‘emotional eating’: How to have a healthy relationship” blog talks about how cooking together is a lot of fun! It insists on eating together.