Eating meals in front of the TV isn’t good for you or for your children. A survey conducted by the Baylor College of Medicine shows that there seems to be a connection between a child’s weight and how often they eat their meals in the company of the television.
- 42% of dinners eaten at home for the families surveyed involved TV watching
- Of overweight children, 50% of dinners were eaten in front of the TV
- Of normal weight children, only 35% of dinners were eaten in front of the TV
Parents should steer their children away from this habit by eating family dinners around the dining room table away from the television. Dinner is a great time to talk and share with your family as well as have fun. There are many dinner time games that kids are sure to enjoy and parents will find very entertaining as well. Not to mention, you will all learn more about each other. Here are some ideas:
Family questions
Each family member writes a question on a slip of paper. All the slips are placed in a bowl and the bowl is passed around the table. Everyone picks out a question and takes turn answering the questions during dinner.
Best Family Moments
Each family member writes down a couple favorite family moments (vacations, holidays, birthdays, events etc) on slips of paper. The slips are placed in a bowl and one member of the family picks a slip. That person must act out the memory written on the slip or try to describe it without using any of the words on the slip.
Pass the What
Make a rule that nothing on the table can be called by its actual name. When a person wants something passed to them or would like more of something they will have to use their creativity in describing what it is they want.
Make a List
Choose a category (maybe something food-related since it is dinner) and go around the table naming things that fit into that category until a person can’t come up with anything else.
Who Would you Invite to Dinner
Have each person think of someone they would most like to invite to dinner. It could be someone they learned about in school, a famous person, an athlete or just a friend or relative. Have them share why they chose that person. And maybe what they would like to serve for dinner that night.
Not only do these games have the potential to bring your family closer together, they are also helping you avoid the negative impacts that spending meals in front of the TV brings for children, including:
- People eat more food when they watch TV. This is because television distracts you from the signals your body is sending that it’s full. How do you think you can polish off 3 gallon tub of popcorn at a movie??!
- Advertising for junk food is often geared towards children, and most of it targets the typical meal times (these guys aren’t stupid!). This marketing is teaching your kids poor food choices.
- TV watching during meals is associated with a more inactive lifestyle. Set a good example by making mealtime family time and plan to get out and do something active together daily.
Source: “TV Dinners” for Kids Common, American Dietetic Association Meeting, October 2000