How to encourage conversation, get your kids to eat different foods and have fun with your entire family at mealtimes.
By Catherine Lippe
Persuading children of any age to sit round a table at mealtimes can be a challenge, but eating together particularly with young children and teenagers, can be more valuable than you might think.
Family expert and nutritionist Catherine Lippe from The Luna Hive looks at the importance of family mealtimes, and shares tips on how to encourage your kids to eat with you on a daily basis:
Why are family mealtimes important?
Apart from being a social occasion where you can encourage interaction and conversation, family mealtimes are a great opportunity to build children’s confidence and familiarity with a wide variety of different types of foods.
Research suggests that, particularly for young children, the two most effective ways to encourage children to try new foods include:
🔹 Repeated exposure: this means exposing children to new foods regularly and consistently without putting pressure on them to eat.
🔹 Good role modelling: eating and enjoying different types of food yourself can help children to feel more comfortable and willing to try a new food when they are ready.
Family mealtimes will support and enhance both of these practices.
What happens when families eat separately?
If kids eat their meals separately they miss out on some of the social and conversation benefits of family meals but also the role modelling. Eating in front of the TV, or other distractions, means children are not always fully engaged and in tune with what they are eating.
If kids eat separately they miss out on some of the social and conversation benefits of families.
This is the opposite of mindful eating. Not only will they miss out on the exposure to foods (because their attention is diverted away from the plate) but they are also likely to eat more than they really need.
Taking time over our meals, sitting down as a family, chewing our food properly and paying attention to the food on our plate is a better approach to healthy eating behaviours in the long term.
How to implement family mealtimes
While it’s clear that family mealtimes are important for a number of reasons, persuading moody teens or tantrum-ing toddlers to sit at the table can be easier said than done. But there are a few ways you can make family mealtimes more manageable:
✅ Make it a routine
Try to bring family mealtimes into your routine as much as possible each week. It might not be practical every day but even a few times a week is beneficial. Remember that it doesn’t have to be dinner time, you may find that it’s easier to sit down and eat breakfast together. Go with what works for your family and remember that sometimes is better than never.
✅ Give your children responsibility
Get the kids involved in menu planning. Allow each family member to choose a meal they like and want to eat that week. Allowing some choice and making an effort with meal planning may create more of an occasion at mealtimes, which means the kids are more likely to want to sit down and eat together as a family without being glued to their gadgets. They might even get involved in preparing the meal!
✅ Set boundaries
Set mealtime boundaries and encourage the whole family to come up with their own mealtime wish. Write these mealtime wishes down and get everyone to agree to them. You might include things like; no TV or phones at the table, always say please and thank you, be willing to try at least one new food etc. Above all make mealtimes an enjoyable, sociable and relaxed affair.
Net Doctor