Eating at home benefits families

COLUMBIA, Mo. –University of Missouri Extension asks families to commit to dine in on Wednesday, Dec. 3.

MU Extension human environmental sciences associate Christine Jennings says the first annual Family & Consumer Sciences Day is a day for families to fix and eat a meal at home together.

Busy lifestyles disrupt family time, with 43.1 percent of meals eaten outside of the home in 2012, according to the United States Department of Agriculture.

Jennings said negative results occur when people dine out instead of dining at home. They take in more calories, increase food costs, choose food with poor nutritional value, lose family traditions and communicate less.

Studies show that families that eat together reap many benefits, Jennings said. They eat healthier and communicate better, and children do better in school.

Make meal preparation part of family time together, Jennings said. Let children help with age-appropriate tasks such as setting and clearing the table and preparing food.

Sitting around the dinner table gives families time to talk with one another. Jennings recommends banning cellphones and other electronic devices at the dinner table.

“Concentrate on each other,” she said. Open conversations about what is going on at school with your children or what your spouse’s workday was like.

Teach etiquette and talk about family traditions. Sample new foods and make dining fun, Jennings said.

Eating at home as a family gives parents opportunities to talk about where food comes from, nutrition and portion control. Cooking at home also teaches children about budgeting and cost comparisons.

Dec. 3 is the birthday of Ellen Swallow Richards (1842-1911), founder of the American Association of Family & Consumer Sciences and the first woman to graduate from MIT. For more information about Family & Consumer Sciences Day, go to www.aafcs.org/FCSday.