Sharing Hearts While Dining
>> Nov 9, 2009
Sharing hearts while dining sounds good, right? But unfortunately nowadays, it becomes more difficult for modern families in big cities to have quality times together, such as sharing stories one another at dinner time. The increasing children after-school activities, the long parents work hours, and too much wasted time for traffic jam are the cause of this. Does it happen to your family? Is it difficult enough for your family to have dinner together every day?Many experts said that dining together in a family can give positive atmosphere for the children growth and development psychic and physically, especially for children in toddler, preschool until adolescent age. A study that conducted by National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) Columbia University stated that family eating together can help children in some ways. For instance, it can help children to get better grade at school and to make them far from smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs.
Another study of University of Minneapolis has also found the similar result. It stated that the more often of family dining related to the more quantities of children positive attitudes. The proper family dinner should be attended by the whole family member on a family eating table and it doesn’t need to be done at a restaurant, just do it at your home!
It’s a pity that now there’s a trend: children prefer to eat while watching television. The study of Children’s Nutrition Research Center mentioned that children with obesities have 50% frequency of eating in front of television. It also mentioned that children with normal body weight have only 35% frequency of eating in front television. Can you see the impact of eating in front of television to children’s weight?
Based on the studies results above, we can see that there are many positive points can be obtained from dining activity which attended by the whole family members. Therefore, parents and children should prepare times to have family dinner every day, or, at least, three times a week.
Besides those positive points, there are other additional benefits from having family dinner together:
- every family member will get more healthy home-made meals.
- you have longer times to chat with your child.
- your child can learn to listen other family member’s problem and all at once, they can discuss to seek the solution.
- family emotional ties can be more tightened
Well, let’s have family dinner together and share our heart and mind …
Rewrite source: Kompas and google
The picture is taken from clipartguide.com
