One of the themes I see on the various internet boards I belong to is that children eat and run. First, whatever happened to manners. We were not allowed to leave the table without permission and unless it was an outright emergency we had to stay until everyone was done eating. Also, we used dinnertime to catch up on the day’s activities. When my dad wasn’t there, my mom would ask my sister, brother and I how our day was. Did everything go well, any problems? WE COMMUNICATED.
When my dad was home, he told us about his week and how things were in the city with our family and then we all got a chance to catch him up as to what we were doing (school, friends, after school activities). Even as we all got older, we still had to be home for Sunday dinner. It was mandatory. It was family time, my mom always tried to make the meal extra special.
There was always give and take in my family. We all had a voice and our parents always listened to us. They might not have agreed with us, but they always listened to us.
So try to make dinnertime a special time where your children can air their opinions and views, and really listen to them. You might be surprised what you discover about your children.
Copyright 2005, DeFiore Enterprises
Let Kids Help
One fantastic way to get your children involved in what they are eating, is to have them help. A great way to start is to let them make up their lunch for the next day. Obviously you will need to set some guidelines. For example, when I turned 9 I was allowed to make up my own lunch. In my girlfriends’ houses they were 10 and in some others 11. However, we all felt very important and grown up that we were allowed to make up our own lunch. Again, my mom had certain guidelines. We had to pick a lunch meat, fruit or yogurt and bread to put it on (white, wheat, rye or a roll; today wraps are another alternative). As I got older however, I cut down to a half sandwich as I found I didn’t always finish a full sandwich. I continue to eat lunch this way today, a half sandwich and some fruit.
Home Cooked Fast Food
Many years ago a nifty little device came out called the Crock Pot. You could cut up a bunch of veggies, meat, and spices, dump them in the pot, and it did all the hard work. You came home at the end of the day and Presto you had a nice hearty meal. Add a salad and some bread/rolls and you were set.
Let’s Eat Pizza
One of my family’s favorite meals is called “little pizzas”. We take an English muffin and split it, put some tomato sauce on it, then some low fat mozzarella cheese with some pepperoni slices (hey sometimes you just have to splurge)! However, some healthier toppings would be ham (lean), Canadian bacon, turkey sausage, peppers, olives, or sliced or diced onions.
