Counseling News for September 2015
The most important thing you can do with your kids? Eat dinner with them!
It can be a struggle to fit a family meal into an increasingly busy schedule. I too know what it is like to try to feed my family in between soccer games, Scouting, and homework time, but an abundance of research is telling us we might want to rethink our daily schedule and place more emphasis on mealtime. Studies are finding some very interesting correlations and outcomes between family meals and healthy children! Here are some findings to think about…
Dinnertime boosts vocabulary for young children even more than being read aloud to. Kids who have a larger vocabulary tend to read earlier and with more ease.
For school age children regular mealtime is a powerful predictor of high achievement scores.
Adolescents who eat family meals five to seven times a week were twice as likely to get A’s in school then those who ate family meals two times or less a week.
Children who eat regular family dinners also consume more fruits, vegetables, vitamins, and micronutrients, as well as fewer fried foods and sugary soft drinks.
Young adults who ate regular family meals as teens are less likely to be obese and more likely to eat healthily once they live on their own.
Studies link regular family dinners with lowering a host of high risk teenage behaviors including: smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, violence, school problems, eating disorders, and sexual activity.
Kids who eat dinner with their parents experience less stress and have a better relationship with them.
Meals do not have to be gourmet or take three hours to cook. What does matter is warm and engaging parents and of course no T.V. watching!
I am looking forward to a great school year!
Miss Katie
The information in this newsletter was obtained from an article in the Washington Post. If you wish to view the entire article go to www.washingtonpost.com