4 Reasons for Family Meals

Family meals are an important part of bonding with your family. Family meals, however, often get pushed aside to accommodate other responsibilities, like sports practice, music lessons, and other extracurriculars. It’s still important to make time for family meals at least a few times each week! Here are four reasons you should consider implementing family meals into your weekly schedule!

Opportunity to Connect

Families that have open communication feel more connected and happy with each other. Family meals create a great opportunity to talk to your children and spouse. Sharing thoughts and feelings and talking about everyone’s day is a great way to relieve stress and worry. Communication and support are extremely important for overall health and well-being!

Get Active

Another reason to make time for family meals is the opportunity to get active. When your whole family is together (how often does that happen, right?) it is a perfect time to suggest doing a family activity! Try going for a walk, a family bike ride, or tossing the football for a game of catch. This interaction will allow for some extra exercise and get feel-good endorphins moving. Instead of dessert after family meals, treat yourself to a nice calorie-burning walk.

A Full Nutritious Meal

It’s difficult to know exactly what your kids are eating at school. They are likely offered a healthy school lunch, but what if they don’t eat the whole thing? Or what if they bring unhealthy snacks to school and eat those instead? With frequent family meals, you can ensure that your kids are getting the healthy nutrients that they need for growth and brain development. It also is an opportunity for you to create a delicious and healthy meal with a variety of food choices. When you cook for only yourself or your spouse, food options are limited because there are fewer people. Cooking for your whole family allows for creative food preparation and a variety of meal options.

Teach Your Kids a Valuable Skill

Get your kids in the kitchen with you! Family meals are the perfect time to teach them the valuable life skill of cooking. Far too many kids today don’t know the first thing about cooking! It becomes problematic as they grow up because they often go for convenient and processed options that are quick. This isn’t good for their health! Getting them in the kitchen for family meals can teach them about food preparation, healthy food, and could inspire an interest in fresh, healthy foods. Learning about healthy food at a young age is likely to encourage a healthier lifestyle in the future. When they’re grown, they will be so grateful that you took the time to teach them to cook, and they will cherish those memories for a lifetime.

Family meals are a great opportunity to bring health and wellness to your entire family. Family meals are really worth the effort. :) Once you get into a routine, it will be a great way to connect with your kids and teach them about healthy foods. If you are interested in support for your healthy lifestyle, contact me. I’d love to offer motivation and advice on your fitness journey!