OCR Text |
Show I'wronUfaro i I mr i:nmil mnnls: miitiiiinij nntl nourishing y' Wende Douglas recalls that as a child when to head home for dinner. in Iowa, she never forgot growing up Tripoli, "The little town of 1 ,200 had the whistle blow at 6 p.m. and that meant all the kids had to be home for supper," Douglas says. At her house, missing mealtime was not an option. My father used to say, Were not running a cafeteria here, and you'd better be home if you want to eat." Now a mother of three in Storm Lake, Iowa, Douglas can't depend on a whistle to remind her children to come home, but she tries to make sure nothing gets scheduled from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. so the family can eat dinner together. I think eating together helps the kids devela op strong sense of home. I can remember coming home ... and you walk into the kitchen and can smell supper cooking. I think it just helps to have a solid sense of home base, says Douglas, who works part time in husband Dans dental office and does volunteer work. Rigid mealtimes for breakfast, lunch, or dinner might be a thing of the past, colliding with soccer and ballet practice, school or church activities, different schools, heavy homework loads, and the daily couples. But busy fami- juggling act of two-care- er Page 6 American Profile ftxxaTim lies who make time to turn off the television and break bread together get big payoffs healthier, happier children, stronger families, and even better manners. Strengthening families The main benefit of eating together is strengthening the family, says Dr. Michele Borba, author of several books on raising caring and compassionate children, including Building Moral Intelligence: The Seven Essential Virtues that Teach Kids to Do the Right Thing. In this day and age, in our harried world, mealtime may be one of the few times during the day when we are really all together, says Borba, mother to three teenaged boys in Palm Springs, Calif. One of the qualities of a really strong family is that they take time together." A family dinner hour can be a time to teach listening, which, Borba says, is the core of empathy. Current events, even tragic ones, can be used to get teenagers to talk about feelings when they might not be willing to open up about what is going on with their peers, she says. She suggests finding uplifting news for instance a story about everyday people who rescue dogs then asking the family how they might help. |