Family Health

importance of family dinners

It can be hard to find the time to sit down for a family dinner. But here's why a family dinner is good for both you and your kids.

Weeknights can be a blur for busy families. Between commuting, homework, sports and other extracurricular activities, it can be hard to sit down for a healthy dinner, let alone prep for one. That said, there's a compelling case to be made for sitting down together for a meal. Here's why you should:

Dinnertime is family time
When you dine with your loved ones, you're doing more than just refueling. It's an opportunity to regroup and reconnect, says Danielle Eveleigh, a Toronto mother of sons aged eight, 10 and 12. The Eveleighs dine together at least five nights per week.

"As the boys get older, I'm glad we do, because it really is the time I find out what's going on in their lives. I think it helps with our relationships," she says.

Nutritional benefits
Family dinners help kids develop into savvy adult eaters. According to Sarah Woodruff, associate professor at the University of Windsor's Faculty of Human Kinetics, family dinners "provide a venue for learning and teaching healthy food behaviours." Research shows additional nutritional benefits, including:

• Higher daily diet quality (more fruits and vegetables)
• Less meal skipping
• Higher self-confidence in making healthy eating choices

Finally, kids who report higher kitchen-confidence tend to come from families that eat dinner together often. "Being able to cook—or at least feeling comfortable in the kitchen—provides children and adolescents a head start," says Woodruff.

It's a habit that can be passed down from generation to generation. "Growing up, we always had dinner together at the table," says Eveleigh.

Time-management tips
Coordinating meals isn't always easy, but it's achievable with some advance planning. Here are some tips:

1. Lighten your load
"We made a conscious decision to cut down on extracurricular activities during the week. We hated coming home from work, rushing to have dinner, running out the door and still trying to get homework done," says Eveleigh, whose sons' organized weeknight activities are limited to Tuesdays and Thursdays.

2. Don't be a short-order cook
Offering multiple options to picky eaters can eat up extra time. So barring any actual food allergies or intolerances, avoid it. "We have diverse dinners with no choices: one meal for everyone," says Eveleigh.

3. Pre-cook to save time
"When we buy chicken I poach it, shred it and put it in the freezer," says Eveleigh. "It defrosts quickly and can be used in so many dishes: pasta, stir-fry, salad, and tacos.".

Other shortcuts: do big-batch weekend cooking; use frozen veggies so that no washing or cutting are required; use a slow cooker and come home to a hot, homemade dinner.

4. Finally, delegate
Make your kids do the cooking one night per week! It's educational and deliciously empowering.

For more healthy eating tips, check out how to make healthy food together.

Kids in the kitchen: Making healthy food together

Put your kids in the kitchen! It's one winning strategy to raise healthy eaters.

By Yuki Hayashi

Want to raise healthy eaters? Put your kids to work in the kitchen! It's one of the best ways to motivate them to try new foods and learn about nutrition. University of Alberta researchers recently surveyed Grade 5 students in the province and found that kids who helped with food prep at home were more likely to opt for fruits and veggies than those who didn't. Beyond instilling healthy eating habits, cooking together is also a great way to enhance family time.

What ages can kids get cooking?
You may be surprised by how early you can start your child's culinary education. "Get them started young," says Maggie Patterson, a South Mountain, ON, mom. She started cooking with her son, Drew, when he was just two years old. "As soon as he could, he would
stand on a chair and help me with age-appropriate tasks," such as choosing recipes, measuring ingredients and eventually mixing and chopping.

Lisa Bolton's son, Matteo, 3, "started helping me in the kitchen when he was about 18 months. That usually meant a bowl, some flour and a wooden spoon when I was making bread or spinning the salad," says the Surrey, BC, mom and Sixtyone45.com food blogger.

If your sous chef is older, he or she may have stronger opinions about what's on the menu or what tasks they take on. Take Toronto chef and cookbook author Trish Magwood's 10-year-old, Findlay, for instance. "Fin loves risotto—especially making risotto. He doesn't have to worry about homework or helping with cleanup, just standing by the stove and stirring!" she says.

Risotto prep is an exercise in patience, diligence and attentiveness to detail—all traits worth cultivating. Plus, picky eaters may be more interested in trying something they helped make.

Yes, it will get messy
Cut your stress by accepting that there will be cleanup. "You're going to have things spilling, eggs half in the bowl and half on the counter, and that's okay. I encourage Drew to be thoughtful about what he's doing, but he's a kid! He's having fun, we're working together and that's the point," says Maggie, whose kitchen floor has been covered in sprinkles more times than she'd care to focus on.

Be conscious of time constraints, too. "Matteo doesn't help with every meal," says Lisa. "If we are on a schedule, those are not the best helping days. But we are often looking to fill time in the afternoon, so he's a great help for prepping dinners." Lazy weekend brunches are another low-stress time to cook or bake together.

Keep kids motivated by focusing on the joys of cooking and eating, and look for ways to make food prep even more fun. Toronto mom Meagan Ross's two sons, ages two and four, both love apples and making applesauce, so she and her husband take them apple-picking in the fall, which gives them a chance to work their magic using their handpicked fruit. "Peeling apples is one of their favourite activities," she says.

Task masters
Let your kids choose from a range of age-appropriate tasks.

Toddlers and preschoolers:
• Cookie-decorating
• Adding premeasured ingredients to mixing bowls
• Lining baking trays
• Stirring*
• Washing produce or bowls*
• Turning countertop appliances, such as a toaster or blender, "on" and "off"*

Little kids (5-8):
• Adding toppings to pizza
• Rolling and cutting out pasta
• Cutting out cookies and placing them onto baking sheets
• Cupcake decorating
• Retrieving ingredients from cupboards, pantry, fridge*
• Peeling vegetables*
• Measuring ingredients*
• Forming meatballs or patties
• Helping with cleanup*

Big kids (9+):
• Cracking eggs (and removing excess shells on their own!)
• Grating cheese
• Ladling out muffin or cupcake batter
• Cutting, slicing, chopping*
• Picking out recipes to try
• Learning to use the stove*
• Rolling out pizza dough*
• Pounding cutlets

* with parental supervision/assistance as required

Mixed ages
Have a few kids? Divvy up the chores for efficiency. Trish has three kids (ages five, eight and 10) who are put to work assembly line–style. Quesadillas are a fave for the family of five. "During preparation, I sauté the onions and peppers while the kids grate cheese, put salsa and sour cream in bowls, chop vegetables, stack tortillas and wrap them in foil for the oven, then help lay it all out. Everyone assembles their own quesadillas, and they are happy to eat them since they all had a hand in making them," says Trish. Want some kid-friendly recipes? Visit our kid-friendly food section for suggestions.

Why children are sitting too much, and how parents unwittingly contribute to this phenomenon.

By Maria Barillaro

7 ways parents prevent kids from getting enough exercise

It's no surprise that kids today are less physically active than they were 20 years ago. But the question remains: Why? We spoke to Dr. Glen Ward, chair of the Canadian Paediatric Society Public Education Advisory Committee and a paediatrician in Surrey, BC, to get his take on why children aren't getting enough exercise. Find out how these common mistakes parents make prevent their kids from being as active as they should be.

1. Overestimating the value of organized sports
Ward, a father himself, says society places too much emphasis on organized sport and not enough on free play. Playing a sport once or twice a week is not nearly enough physical activity, but parents seems to think that if it isn't organized, it's not exercise. Ward disagrees. He points out how little physical activity children sometimes get with organized athletics, which he says are "a lot of commitment for relatively little activity time." The Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology (CSEP) recommends a minimum of 60 minutes of physical activity per day for children. Free play, like running around the backyard, results in more activity time over a shorter period and also saves parents the sometimes high cost of organized sports.

Some tips for getting your kids to be more active 

It can be hard to get your child to be active when they're distracted by the TV and computer. But we've got some great tips to help you get your kid moving.

Just seven percent of five- to 11-year-olds and four percent of 12- to 17-year-olds get the federal government's recommended 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day. Regular physical activity promotes cardiovascular fitness, strength and bone density. It also lowers the risk of cancer, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. We polled health experts, advocates and Canadian Olympians for their top tips to get kids moving.

 1. Walk the walk
"As parents, it is our responsibility to set good examples for our children. If our children see us being active and having fun doing it, they will choose this way of life," says Lascelles Brown, an Olympic medallist in Bobsleigh and a dad of six. The good news: You don't have to be an elite athlete to inspire your kids. Just convey enthusiasm for and commitment to your Zumba sessions or lunchtime strolls.

2. Follow your child's cues
You might presume hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser's kid would be a hockey nut. Not at all. Wickenheiser's 13-year-old son "didn't want anything to do with hockey," says the Olympic medallist. "I encouraged Noah to get involved in something he had fun doing. It was important that he wanted to go and that it would be his thing. He chose swimming," says the proud mama.

3. Have silly fun!
For Pippa Whitfield, the six-year-old daughter of four-time Olympic triathlete Simon Whitfield, stormy weather is cause for celebration. "We had a big windstorm the other day and Pippa and I threw on our jackets and ran up and down the waterfront park," says Whitfield. "We ran into the wind, then turned around and ran back. We were out there for an hour." If you look around, you'll find countless similar opportunities for tag, wrestling, or building snow forts. If your heart's racing and you're laughing, you're in the zone!

4. Walk to school
Between 2000 and 2010, the number of kids who got to school via car or bus increased from 51 to 62 percent. If kids walked or biked that daily trip, they'd spend an average of 15 to 20 extra minutes per day moving. This might not be achievable every day, but just a couple days per week makes a difference. Try leaving the car at home when taking your kids to the library or the local skating rink, too.

5. Put activity into context
Organized sports have a role to play, but it's the everyday activities that are the real game changers, says Mark Tremblay, director of healthy active living and obesity research at Ottawa's CHEO Research Institute (and a dad of four). Kids should be "running, chasing the dog, playing hopscotch in the driveway, shooting hoops, shooting pucks—all those things they can do with no coach, no uniform, no score clock, no minivan," he says.

6. Let go a little
Kids have less freedom than ever to roam the outdoors, says Tremblay. "In the name of good parenting, [we] keep our kids ‘safe and sound' inside," and entertained by screens and an endless supply of snacks. This has become so much the norm that, as Tremblay puts it, "If you let your six- or eight-year-old go to the playground by themselves, neighbours are inclined to call social services about your ‘irresponsible parenting.'" So cut back on helicoptering. Boost your peace of mind by signing your kid up for a street-proofing course, and by encouraging them to play outside with friends.

7. Tap into your community's resources
Kids from lower-income families are less likely to participate in sports, and thus less likely to glean the physical and psychosocial benefits. Knowing this, a Hamilton, ON, mom named Sharon Gallant launched the FAB Girls 5K Challenge, a free running club for girls in Grades 6 to 8. You could try following her lead, or you could search your own community for similar free events. "There are many great organizations out there working hard to make sport and recreation accessible. Learn what is available in your community," says Gallant. Ask at local schools, recreation centres and nonprofits like the YMCA or YWCA.

8. Dress for success
When kids are dressed for winter, they're dressed to roll snowballs, make snow angels, leap from snowbanks, stomp on chunks of ice and snow, run and slide, and more," says Catherine Cameron, a Toronto mom of two and "Active Living Ambassador" for ParticipACTION, the national nonprofit dedicated to promoting active living. When kids are warm, they're also less likely to balk at walking to school or running errands.

9. Understand what motivates your children
"Some kids are motivated by team sports and competition, others by the social benefits of being part of a group, and some would rather do things on their own or with their family," says Gallant, an accomplished triathlete whose daughter, now 20, was never into team sports, preferring individual activities like in-line skating, skiing and golf. "Understand what motivates your kid and connect them to activities that match. You'll significantly increase the likelihood that they'll enjoy and continue the activity."

10. Reduce screen time
Turn off the television, put aside the smartphones and tablets and head outside. "By going hiking on the weekend instead of going to a movie, your children will value the same things in their lives," says Wickenheiser.

 

How regular bedtimes make your kids smarter

A consistent nighttime routine boosts the IQ of children, particularly girls. Here’s why.

Bedtime is fight time at my house. I know my daughter is happier, more cooperative and easy going when she gets enough sleep. She likes to avoid going to bed, dragging her feet and stalling in lots of creative ways. When I'm tired it drives me nuts. "Cause I said so," never flies that well and logic rarely works either. But the next time bedtime turns into a main event I have a new card to play – science.

A new study by Yvonne Kelly, an epidemiology and health professor at the University College, London, found evidence that a regular bedtime boosts a child's IQ.

"Not having a regular bedtime in early childhood is linked to various aspects of intellectual development - here we looked at reading, math, and spatial abilities," says Kelly. "We found that children [without regular bed times] had lower scores compared with children who had regular bedtimes." There's lots of evidence showing a link between inconsistent sleep habits and poor academic performance in adults and teenagers, but this was one of the first to look at the link in children. Kelly and a team of researchers used the Millennium Cohort Study, a collection of information gathered from 11,178 British children born between September 2000 and January 2002.

Kids who are tired are at a disadvantage at school - read our Goonight, Sleep Right piece to learn how to set a bedtime.

Part of the cohort study involved four interviews with kids and parents – at nine months, three years, five years and seven years of age. Interviewers asked about bedtime routines, how often the kids went to bed "on time" and whether they were read to or watched TV before bed. During the later three interviews the kids were also given a standardized IQ test involving reading, math and spatial-awareness.

Even when variables like bedtime reading, bedroom televisions and family socioeconomic status were controlled, Kelly's study showed a regular bedtime effected IQ scores. But the effect was not equal. Girls with regular bedtimes scored an average of eight points better than those without. Boys too felt the impact of bedtime routines, at least when they were younger, scoring six points better on the IQ test at age three if they had regular bedtime, but the difference disappeared by the time they were seven.

If you're looking for books for nighttime reading, look no further than our gallery of Top some childhood books that are still around.

Kelly cautions not to make too much of the gender divide. "I don't think we can draw any firm gender related conclusions from this work," she said. "The differences we found were not statistically different. They don't, for example, suggest that somehow girls are more prone and boys immune to the effects of not having regular bedtimes."

That's a sentiment shared by Alanna McGinn, a sleep consultant at goodnightsleepsite.com. She says all kids benefit from a regular bedtime (and she's got plenty of testimonials from parents saying they benefit, too). The bedtimes she recommends to her clients vary by age: 15 months to three years, 6 to 7:30; three to six, 6 to 8; seven to 12, 7:30 to 9.

"[Children] thrive off of consistency and having a regular bedtime helps them to know what is coming next," McGinn says. "As much as [children] pull for control they actually feel more safe and secure when parents are in control. When things are irregular that's when the struggle can occur because they're unsure of their next step." Further, she says, regular bedtimes help set the natural internal clock, which optimizes restorative sleep patterns.

So, now I have more ammunition for arguing for a regular bedtime, but that doesn't mean it will get any easier. For that McGinn offers five tips. These can work for adults struggling to fall asleep, too. Communicate. "Discuss the importance of sleep with your child," she says. "It helps them understand why its important and why you are making the necessary changes to their routines." Ask them why they need sleep, how much sleep they think they need, how they feel when they are tired and how they feel when they get a good night of sleep. Avoid caffeine and sugar. Just like in adults they are a stimulant that makes falling asleep harder and have many other proven health issues, especially for kids. Avoid caffeine throughout the day and soda, chocolate and iced tea from late afternoon on. Encourage quiet play. An hour before bedtime, turn off the TV and computer. "Electronics right before bedtime can put the body in a state of stress because of the high level of visual and cognitive stimulation," says McGinn. Try a game of cards, a puzzle or imaginary play with toys. Establish a routine. Creating a consistent sequence of pre-bedtime activities "sends cues to your child, consciously and unconsciously, that it's almost time for bed," she says. Warn them that it's almost bedtime. Then, 15 to 30 minutes before bedtime, McGinn recommends dimming the lights to trigger the natural release of sleep hormones, playing soothing and quiet music, brushing teeth and reading. Consistency is key. Have your child go to bed and wake up at the same time every day,

McGinn recommends. "Even on weekends, you shouldn’t stray more than an hour or so from bedtime in order to continue to synch their circadian rhythms and their brain.