Family Mealtime

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Family Mealtime

• Connecting Families
• With Food

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(No Transcript)
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What is a Meal?
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A meal is a facilitator of food intake.
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What is a Meal?

• The context in which people eat.
• Every culture has its own definitions of a meal,
  including . . . ? meal format ? eating
  pattern ? social organization

Meiselman, HL, Dimensions of the Meal, 2000
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Social Organization

• A meal is a planned social interaction centered
  on food.
• Meals are a marker for intimacy versus distance
  in relationships.
• Meals civilize children in a certain culture. ?
  learn about food (edible vs. inedible) ? food
  preparation ? how to behave

Meiselman, HL, Dimensions of the Meal, 2000
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Family Any configuration of people who
regularly eat together, or from the same
household food resources, and who mutually
influence decisions about food. Gillespie and
Gillespie, 2000
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Discussion

• Reflect on your own experiences with family
  mealtime . . .
• Share your best memories of family meals growing
  up
• Describe family meals for you today
• Share any negative experiences of family meals.
  If there was anything you could change, what
  would it be?

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The Shared Meal
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What happened to the family meal?

• Conflicting schedules
• Both parents working
• Long work hours
• Split shifts
• Meetings
• Sports practices
• Music lessons
• ? Cooking skills

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How we eat today . . .
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Do family meals matter?

• Improved nutrition
• ? fruits and vegetables
• ? grains
• ? calcium-rich foods
• ? protein
• ? iron
• ? fiber
• ? vitamins
• ? soft drinks

Neumark-Sztainer, JADA (103), 2003
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Do family meals matter?
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Food connects people
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No family meals, means . . .

• less nutritious meals
• poorer school performance
• more likely to use drugs and alcohol
• more risk-taking behaviors

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Do family meals matter?

• Fewer behavioral problems
• 5 meals/week ? ? drugs, depression, trouble
  (B. Bowden, Cincinnati Childrens Hospital)

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http//www.casafamilyday.org
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Do family meals matter?

• Improved scholastic performance
• ? language acquisition and child development
  (C. Snow, Harvard Grad School of Education)
• ? school performance and achievement test
  scores (University of Illinois)
• ? academic success (Readers Digest
  survey)

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Family Meals Could they help prevent overweight
in children?

• Consistent mealtimes ? food security
• ? nutrient-dense foods, ? nutrient-poor foods
• Parents role model healthy eating at meals
• Prevent disengaged eating and promote focused
  eating, respond to hunger/satiety
• Promote sense of belonging

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Do family meals matter?
Parents make up a childs entire
universe. Mister Rogers
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Do family meals matter?

• Happier families
• Improved communication
• Stronger family ties
• Greater sense of identity and belonging

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Strategies for family meals

• Make a priority
• Plan ahead
• Create positive atmosphere

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Strategies for family meals
Make a priority
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Strategies for family meals
Plan ahead
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www.kraftfoods.com
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Time - 30 min or less

• 15-Minute Beef Pot Roast with Savory Mashed
  Potatoes

www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com/
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http//otherwhitemeat.com/
Cooking' Up Conversation   This guide offers
complete mealtime solutions, delicious recipes
and conversation starters that will make your
entire family look forward to dinner. View
'Cooking' Up Conversation ' Brochure
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ABC'S OF A FUN DINNERTIME ABC's of a Fun
Dinnertime Now that you have prepared dinner for
the family, it's time to sit down together and
enjoy your meal. Follow these suggestions from
the Canned Food Alliance to make dinnertime not
only a fun family time, but also time to learn.
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http//www.mealtime.org/
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Strategies for family meals
Create positive atmosphere
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Family Meals Impossible Dream or Realistic Goal?
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Family MealtimeMake it happen!
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This presentation on Family Mealtimewas made
possible by thePurdue UniversityCenter for
FamiliesPromoting Family Meals Project. For
more information go to www.cfs.purdue.edu/CFF/pr
omotingfamilymeals