How can we promote family meals? Overcome barriers and boost benefits.
September is Family Meals Month, a movement I have supported for decades. The image above shows my Promoting Family Meals web page. On this page, I have a variety of useful tools, from handouts and posters to lesson plans and menu planners. All are free to download and share.
This link: https://www.fmi.org/family-meals takes you to more useful tools to promote family meals.
I have found that successfully promoting family meals requires two things – overcoming the barriers and boosting the benefits. Let’s explore ways to accomplish both…
How can we overcome barriers to having family meals?
The most commonly cited barriers to achieving family meals are busy schedules, unrealistic expectations, and perceived workload. These can be overcome:
Make eating together the default
Everyone eats, so think about times when being with others while eating can easily happen. Simple as that. Breakfast with a family member instead of skipping or eating alone. Lunch with a coworker instead of at your desk. Know your family’s schedules and plan to eat together as often as possible.
Keep family meals simple and a joint effort
Include easy and delicious meal components in your grocery orders. Encourage others to take on age- and ability-appropriate tasks. When everyone helps, everyone builds skills, and no one does all the work.
Emphasize connection over perfection
Being together is more important than perfect food, table settings, or manners. Take advantage of proximity to others. Put away phones. Turn off the TV. Share your highs and lows. Tell a funny story. Talk. Laugh. Connect.
How can we boost the benefits of having family meals?
Demonstrate and share these benefits of sharing meals with others:
Prioritize the number one reason people value sharing meals: to build stronger relationships
Make conversation and connection at shared meals a primary goal. See the third bullet point above. Meals are more than just a time to eat. Nourish mental and social health along with physical health.
Notice how eating together improves meal quality
Research indicates that when people feed others in addition to themselves, the variety of foods served increases and meals include a greater number of wholesome components such as fruits and vegetables. For parents, eating together provides an opportunity to model healthy eating behaviors.
Family meals are a skill-building laboratory
Think of all the transferable life skills you and other family members can practice in the planning and preparing of family meals: organizational (scheduling), collaborative (sharing tasks), shopping (getting food), cooking (preparing food), aesthetic (creating a pleasing environment), conversational (engaging others with respect and courtesy), cleaning (putting away leftovers and washing dishes), and more. Start small and take baby steps. Skill building makes achieving family meals easier. Perfection isn’t the goal; improvement is.
Read and share these blog posts to learn more and promote family meals:
What difference do family meals make? What does the research say?
Do you want more frequent family meals? You can overcome the barriers.
Mealtime conversations show you care and make your family stronger.
How do cultures around the world celebrate food and family at meals?
Can everyone benefit from eating with others as much as families do?
Why should I do a digital detox at meals? To make meaningful connections.
How can I promote sharing meals with friends, family, even strangers?
Who's Home for Dinner? A short story for children about eating together
“Food brings people together on many different levels. It's nourishment of the soul and body; it's truly love.”
~ Giada De Laurentiis
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