As a kid growing up my mom had dinner planned every night of the week and we rarely went out to eat. Eating out was something we typically did for special occasions like birthdays or anniversaries. After reading a recent article it’s easy to forget how important it is to eat at home with your family. In all honesty, I’m thankful my parents made my brother and I spend the time to eat together as a family and it’s something I miss it quite a bit. There are several benefits for the entire family when you eat at home together, and a lot of these I can personally vouch for.
1. Kids might learn to like their veggies: In a recent study, it was shown that kids who eat at home with their family and are more accustomed to veggies and fruits are more likely to skip soda and fried foods and opt for something healthier.
2. Ability to introduce new foods: Parents are able to introduce different types of foods at the dinner table to “broaden kid’s horizons.” At least that’s how my parents always put it.
3. Control portion size: When eating at home you control what and how much you eat. Eating out encourages you to eat more since portion sizes keep increasing.
4. Healthy meals mean healthy people: It’s been proven that kids who eat with their family are less likely to become depressed.
5. Family dinners help kids “say no”: Dining with the family isn’t so bad. It actually lowers a kid’s/teen’s chance of drinking, smoking, and using drugs.
6. Better food= better report card: It’s not so much “better food” that helps kids with their grades, but rather the adult conversations that are had. Discussion at the dinner table especially helps with increasing a kid’s vocabulary.
7. Stress reliever: If you have a demanding job, finding time to eat with the family may actually leave you less stressed because you’re sitting down and relaxing, not trying to find something on the go in a pinch.
8. Extra cash in the bank: Money is something that we all love and by eating out you’re not doing your wallet any justice. Did you know in 2007 the average household spent $2668 eating out? That’s almost 3000 items off the value menu, imagine the calories!
Photo courtesy of eugene
Info provided by Health