Family Mealtime: How important is it really?

I had a discussion a few days ago with Linda from Oklahoma Healing Connection. We were talking about breastfeeding and covering up. Now before you get your panties in a wad and tell me that breastfeeding in natural and you shouldn't have to cover up hear me out. First you need to know that I breastfed all 6 of my kids until they were at least a year old and most of them until they were 2 or 3 years old. I have participate in nurse-ins, been asked to go to the bathroom, etc. Our conversation was about the child's need to be covered as they enjoyed their meal. Think about this as a child is nursing and there is noise, lights, conversations going on they are distracted and stimulated which could lead to undo stress and ultimately tummy upset, colic, and just plain grumpiness. Let's look a little deeper. We all have experienced the grumpy baby when mom is stressed. What if there were bystanders that were less than happy with the idea of an exposed boob and latched on baby? What kind of energy and/or emotion are you exposing your baby to as he/she is consuming a meal? Linda and I discussed how covering is not for mom but rather a protection from negative energy, outside distraction, over stimulation, etc for baby. Have no doubt I have fed a baby no matter the situation or atmosphere, because their growth and development are priority. I have always used some sort of covering or stepped away from a group to nurse my babies, not because I was concerned about others opinions but to give baby a quiet, relaxing place to enjoy a meal. I had never thought in depth about protecting baby from negative energy or comments, but it makes perfect sense to me.

What about as the child gets older? Are we protecting family mealtime? I did a little research, mostly out of my own curiosity. Sanford Children's Health suggests that family mealtime builds a child's self esteem, helps develop good communication skills, and encourages important life skills as children are included in meal preparation and clean up.

An article in the Washington Post written by Anne Fishel, co-founder of The Family Dinner Project, professor at Harvard Medical School and author of "Home For Dinner" states that as a family therapist her impulse is to tell families to go home and have dinner together rather than spend an hour in counseling with her. She also says family dinners boost vocabulary even more than children being read to siting research that states children learn about 1000 rare words over the dinner table compared to just 143 words from being read to by parents.

Fishel also mentions that elementary age children show higher achievement in school if they are having family mealtime. Teens who have dinner with family 5-7 times per week are twice as likely to make A's as those who don't have family meals. Teens who have family meals are also less likely to participate in wreckless behaviors such as smoking, and alcohol consumption. I wonder what the teen pregnancy rate is among teens whose families have dinner together on a regular basis.

Family meals also promote healthy eaters as children watch their parents model good nutrition and balanced meals. These children are also less picky and more inclined to try new foods.

Why the decline in the family dinner table? Can we blame technology? Our overly busy schedules? It may be time to sit down and take inventory of the things and activities that are distracting us from the important things like family meal time. Put the phones down, and let's start talking again!!

Read Anne Fishel's article here https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2015/01/12/the-most-important-thing-you-can-do-with-your-kids-eat-dinner-with-them/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.48da2de1619d