Family meals matter

By Robb Murray
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO August 07, 2008 11:51 pm

— What a difference a family meal can make.
Research suggests kids who eat evening meals regularly with their families have better grades and are much less likely to smoke or engage in other unhealthy behaviors.
That’s why Mankato Area Healthy Youth has for three years taken part in the “National Family Day — A day to eat dinner with your family.” They’ll take part in their fourth on Sept. 22.
This year’s efforts in Mankato will look a little different than others. Area restaurants will be recruited to play along by offering specials to families that choose to spend their National Family Day with them.
“It’s one of the easiest things parents can do to really help their kids to avoid using substances,” said Nancy Fitzsimons, vice chairwoman the Mankato Area Healthy Youth board, “and raise the likelihood they’ll do better in school.”
September is one of the best times for families to get into a routine that involves family meals, Fitzsimons said. The school year is starting, which puts kids in the mindset of accepting new routines.
In general, the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the research suggests, the less likely they are to smoke, use illegal drugs, engage in unsafe sexual behavior, etc.
The theory is that having meals together give parents an opportunity to notice or pick up on changes in a child’s personality.
Research suggests that as the number of meals a family has together increases, the likelihood of a child engaging in unhealthy behavior decreases.
Fitzsimons said every elementary school child in the Mankato Area Public Schools will receive information about National Family Day, and Mankato Area Healthy Youth will be promoting the event and trying to get the word out about which restaurants will be participating.
They’re hoping to get up to 30 restaurants to participate.
“Mankato is a community that cares and is proactive in raising healthy kids,” she said.
Visit www.casafamilyday.org for more information about National Family Day or www.mahyonline.org for more information about how Mankato is participating.