The most important thing you can do with your kids? Eat dinner with them.

Such a great challenge for parents today. Eat meals together. Now I fully understand that with the schedules of school and work that you will probably never have breakfast together during the week. During the week lunch is also out. I think it is really important that you cherish the evening dinner times and meals on the weekend. I also understand that we might be out for sports, music or dance classes during the week. I would encourage people to block out at least 3 dinners a week you can be together as a family.

So many good reasons to eat together are put forth in this article:

1. Brain food – “For starters, researchers found that for young children, dinnertime conversation boosts vocabulary even more than being read aloud to.”
2. Does the body good – “Children who eat regular family dinners also  consume more fruits, vegetables, vitamins and micronutrients, as well as fewer fried foods and soft drinks. And the nutritional benefits keep paying dividends even after kids grow up: young adults who ate regular family meals as teens are less likely to be obese and more likely to eat healthily once they live on their own.”
3. Soul food – “In addition, a stack of studies link regular family dinners with lowering a host of high risk teenage behaviours parents fear: smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, violence, school problems, eating disorders and sexual activity.”

Click here to read the article.