Raising Maine

It doesn't have to be everyone gathered around the dining table.

By VIRGINIA MCCORMACK, Raising Maine Contributor

The school year is in full swing and family schedules are packed with sports, play dates, evening meetings and homework. On many occasions you have to be in two or three places at the same time.

Something has to give. For many families that thing is the family meal. There simply isn't time to settle in around the table.

RESEARCH BEHIND IT
A 2006 report from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University compared teens and children who shared dinner with their families five times per week to those who shared two meals or less per week.

The study found these positives for the children and teens in the first group:

* They do better in school.
* They are half as likely to try cigarettes or marijuana.
* They are one-third less likely to try alcohol.
* They confide in their parents more.

WHAT IS A FAMILY MEAL?
The stress of the five family meals a week goal can be alleviated by changing your definition of the family meal.

A family meal is your family gathered together eating healthy food and engaging in conversation.

It doesn't have to happen at 6 p.m. It doesn't have to be gourmet or require hours in the kitchen. It doesn't even have to be around the dining room table.

* Breakfast is a meal. Cold cereal, toast, fruit and juice count as healthy food.
* Who says a dinner menu can't be served at 4 p.m. before the evening rush and when the kids are starving?
* After-school snacks while everyone shares their day can be a family meal.
* Packing a dinner picnic and heading to the beach for the hour in between practices counts as a family meal. Car picnics count as well.

GET ORGANIZED
Now that you've changed your idea of a family meal, it's time to get organized and make it happen.

* With your calendar in front of you, make the week's menu and decide the days and times of your family meals.
* Many families spend Sundays preparing the week's meals and then freezing them. If you don't have enough freezer room, just taking the time to chop the vegetables for various meals can save time on a busy night.
* Become best friends with your slow cooker. Coming home after a long day and being greeted by the aroma of dinner is almost as great as a hug.
* Double recipes and freeze the leftovers for another meal.

LET CHILDREN HELP
The American Heart Association's report on overweight children and teens recommends involving children in planning, shopping and preparing family meals, as it encourages children to eat healthier.

Such a task may be tricky when your children are toddlers, but as they age your extra effort will pay off.

* Children school-aged and beyond can pack an entire picnic for a family meal.
* Allow each child to pick a meal or two every week.
* Assigning a child a night to help with dinner provides one-on-one time with a parent.
* Allowing children to make an entire meal for the family builds confidence.

Life is busy, but even with crazy schedules, family meals can happen and be enjoyed – and everyone benefits.