Spending time together as a family at mealtimes may be good for children’s mental and physical health.
- An American pediatrician recommends sharing meals as a family.
- This contributes to the healthy development of children from a physical and mental point of view.
- It also allows them to develop good eating habits and maintain them throughout their lives.
Family time is important, and mealtimes are the perfect time to do so. That’s the advice of American pediatrician Natalie D. Muth, author of A Clinical Guide to Pediatric Nutrition, published by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 2023. Her recommendations, shared by MedicalXpressthis specialist advises to protect meal times.Many families struggle to make time for shared meals, she raises. But there’s something that might motivate you to make a change: Children who eat with their families at least three times a week experience physical, emotional, social and academic benefits..”
Family meals: a way to pass on good habits
For the pediatrician, sharing meals as a family allows children to discover new foods that are healthy and fresh.This increases their intake of key nutrients”she points out. But it also improves the chances that they will choose healthy foods when they are away from home and especially when they are older.
A healthy brain resides in a healthy body!
She also believes that these moments are good for the brains of the youngest.”The human brain does not reach full maturity until we are in our mid-twenties.she recalls. Healthy eating habits are important at every age and stage, which may partly explain why family meals are linked to academic success.”
Shared meals are better for your health
Also, meals shared between children and parents guarantee a better nutritional balance for everyone.Families who eat together not only tend to eat more nutritious and balanced meals, but they also find it easier to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.“, she believes.
Better mental health through shared meals
These moments spent at the table are also conducive to discussions and other confidences.Research links family meals to healthy mental development and lower risks of childhood depression, eating disorders, substance abuse and other mental health problems”explains Nathalie D. Muth.
Family meals are conducive to learning
For her, it is also a way of educating children about food.Children who help prepare meals at home can learn a lot about cooking, meal planning and the importance of daily routines.”she adds.
How to organize yourself to spend more time with your family?
She acknowledges that it can sometimes be difficult to find time for these shared moments and gives some additional recommendations to parents: it can be just a few meals a week, without cooking complex dishes. She advises serving at least one fruit or vegetable, involving the whole family in preparing the meal and/or the table and eating away from screens.
