Winter 2003 - Volume 5
In the Know with Family Mealtime
• Unviersity Studies Support the Value of Family Meals
• School Meals are Learning Centers
• Schools Can Promote Healthy Eating and Encourage Family Mealtime
• Downloadable Parents' Newsletter
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• Past issues of the NuNews Newsletter
Nutritionists and educators note school mealtime can support healthy eating practices learned at home, as well as provide other rich opportunities for expanding language and cultural diversity.
- School lunch and family-style meals offer many learning opportunities for teens and young children
- Introduce diversity into the school setting with mealtime
School lunch and family-style meals offer many learning opportunities for teens and young children
“Students in middle and high school get to make more of their own lunch choices, so it’s important to make their choices a topic of conversation...” say the nutritionists at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.8 Parents need to emphasize to their children the importance of making food choices that help their bodies perform best. The family meal is a great place to have this discussion, and “…if children associate eating healthy foods at home with positive feelings, they are more likely to choose healthy foods when they have the chance to decide for themselves.” School lunch period can serve as a nutrition testing ground for students.8
Dr. Catherine Snow at Harvard’s Graduate School of Education followed 53 mothers with 5-year-old children over a period of 2 years.9 She determined that mealtime and play time provided the children with many rich opportunities to learn words and expand their vocabulary.
Parents also recognize the importance of family meals, which one journalist has coined “a gathering place.”10 According to one parent, “It’s at the family dinner table that people first learn to talk. Parents are role models on how to behave, how to take turns, be polite, patient, and hold a spoon. Kids learn not to interrupt, how to past food, and when guests are present, how to entertain.”
Food service directors need to emphasize to child care providers, preschool and kindergarten teachers the value of serving family-style meals.11 These provide children with another powerful learning center, along with enjoyable experiences, which may help to positively influence their eating practices.
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Introduce diversity into the school setting with mealtime
Mealtime is an ideal way to prepare children to respect individual diversity. The appreciation of differences can be integrated into the total array of learning activities for children. Showcasing holidays or featuring the foods of different countries each week is referred to as the "tourist approach" to multicultural education.
An example of integrating diversity into the cafeteria could be to display chopsticks, a wok, wooden bowls and rice bowls when serving an ethnic meal.12[top]
References: Click here.
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