Eating together offers stronger bonds on a plate
FAMILIES
Families have reasons to heed this advice, particularly, if we care
about the wellbeing of our children.
Eating at the family table
offers health benefits. We have the space and time to ensure youngsters are
enjoying the right combination of food types and that they are exploring a
range of food tastes, helping to prevent 'picky' eating patterns developing.
It's also been reported that eating at the table encourages children to eat slowly which lowers the likelihood of obesity and the likelihood of high-risk behaviour such as substance abuse and violence.
Dividing tasks enables youngsters to learn how to help to prepare food, set and clear the table, and learn how to stack a dishwasher or wash by hand.
There can be academic benefits. A Columbia University research team found that children who ate with their parents between five and seven times a week secured higher grades than those at school who did so less frequently.
Eating at the table can boost
children's conversation abilities and their word power will increase more than relying solely on what they glean from story books.
Experts recommend focusing on the quality of the time spent together rather than
how sophisticated the meal might be, switching off the TV and removing other distractions such as
phones, and choosing topics that stimulate healthy conversation and are free of blame, conflict, criticism, and recrimination.
MARRIED COUPLES
Married couples also have good reasons to eat together. A University of Lincoln
study found that married couples who eat together are 15 per cent more likely
to report maximum happiness with their relationship.
Sixty-seven per cent of married couples who ate together said were happy with their relationship, compared to 58 per cent of those who did not.
Married couples eat together slightly more than co-habiting couples.
FRIENDS
The word companion derives from the Latin words for with and bread.
In other words, someone with whom we have a meal. Over time, this has come to
mean a friend, and there are strong reasons why eating a meal with our friends
can be good.
First, it encourages us to take time out from our schedules to relax and catch up with one another and find out what's been going on. It also strengthens our social connections and offers the opportunity to boost our social network when we're introduced to others in our friend's social circle. And we can develop new tastes as friends recommend cuisine we might not have otherwise considered.
January 2024