Family Meal Time

Bellevue parents want to make sure that their kids spend time doing things that will help them be healthy and successful. Because of this, juggling the family schedule and prioritizing activities are a major part of parenting Idaho and everywhere.

With all this competition for your child's time, you may be surprised to learn of the advantages kids receive when families make time to eat dinner together.

Studies have shown that kids who have frequent family dinners benefit in the following ways:

Improved grades
Eating healthier meals
Less likely to try cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana
Increase in family communication
Less likely to become overweight or obese

If you want to help establish a more regular dinner time for your family, here are some tips for your family. Start by setting a small goal, like sitting down for dinner twice a week, and then add days on after that. Next, involve the kids by letting them help plan and prepare the meals and set the table. Lastly, always make mealtime a technology-free zone: no TV or phones allowed!

And remember, even if you're in a rush and have to pick up dinner at a local restaurant, take the time to sit down together to eat. Your family will still enjoy many of these benefits.

We are Dick and Robin Fosbury and we want to help our local Bellevue families to raise healthy, happy kids!

The following online article was used as source material for this blog:
Lerche Davis, Jeanie, "Family Dinners Are Important", WebMD, http://children.webmd.com/guide/family-dinners-are-important, accessed on Oct. 22, 2011