This October, be sure to schedule plenty of time for family meals. Recent research from Harvard indicates that families that eat together are twice as likely to eat the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables as those who do not. While nutritious food is important, children and teenagers report that what they like about family meals is the mealtime conversation. They like having time to share, find out what others have been doing, and to laugh.

If your mealtime is too quiet, don't turn on the TV. Here are some conversation starters to help spark fun mealtime conversations. Have each person at the table answer the same question:

• Describe your dreamjob.
  
• If you owned a store, what would you sell?
  
• What food would you never give up eating?
  
• What skill do you have that nobody knows about?

For more conversation starters and mealtime tips, read Putting Family First: Successful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World or check out our links page.

Check back each week in October for new ideas on how to reclaim and make the most of family meals. If you would like to distribute a flyer for your community, download the October flyer (full-size or a smaller, 600 pixels wide version).

Posted by Susan at 9/29/2003 09:33:38 AM | Link