Family Mealtime Benefits

During the holidays, we tend to eat together as a group while connecting over food and stories. Have you ever thought about incorporating family meals into your weekly routine? With busy schedules, it can be tricky, but family mealtime has many benefits – from strengthening connections to supporting oral motor development. Even preparing a meal together can reap benefits that transfer into mealtime.  

Model Eating with Family Mealtime 

As children begin to eat solids, eating becomes a learned behavior. This means that while they grow, develop, and learn they are looking towards the adults and role models in their lives to ‘show’ them what to do. Family mealtime can help your child increase their oral motor skills, expand their food repertoire, decrease stress and anxiety around mealtimes, and create lasting memories that strengthen family bonds.  

Learn Proper Table Posture for Mealtime 

Eating is demanding and requires coordination of all sensory systems. Have you ever thought about the type of chair your child sits in while they eat? Having a good chair that provides adequate postural support for your child can increase feeding success.  Adequate postural support means your child doesn’t have to work too hard to avoid falling out of their chair. Ideally, your child should be in the 90-90-90 position. This means their hips should be at 90 degrees, their knees at 90 degrees, and their ankles at 90 degrees – with their feet resting on a stable support. If your child does not yet have the strength to remain upright, you can put a foam cushion behind their back or rolled-up towels on their sides to support them. This position facilitates adequate breathing patterns and can free up your child’s hands for a better ability to feed themselves. It can also help your child’s oral motor skills by allowing a better range of motion of their jaw. When in a supported position, you may notice your child sitting at the table for longer periods and engaging more during family mealtimes! No matter the type of chair you use, remember to adjust the chair for your child’s height, provide footrests, and make sure they are posturally supported.  

Work on Oral Motor Skills During Meal Preparation  

If your child has a hard time sitting still or gets very anxious around mealtimes, engaging in movement activities or ‘heavy work’ can help your child reach an optimal state of arousal. before transitioning to the table. You can use bubbles, whistles, or other oral motor tools to help organize your child’s body and wake up their mouth before eating. For some kids, incorporating them into the meal prep and setup can help build autonomy and comfort around mealtimes. Encouraging your child to wash the vegetables or set the table is a wonderful way to include them in mealtime prep. It is also important to consider the best environmental setup to promote mealtime engagement. Consider the distractions near your kitchen table. Is the TV on or are the lights bright? Minimize sensory distractions by turning the TV off, dimming the lights, or playing calm, rhythmical music.  Setting the environment up for success is going to help your child get engaged, sit at the table, and learn about new foods! 

Family Style Meals 

A family-style meal is when food is displayed in serving dishes, and people can serve themselves. To children, this can offer a fun and interactive experience with foods that are preferred or new. If your child has a food they particularly like, place that food in the middle of the table with the new or non-preferred foods around it. This way, your child explores by looking at and smelling the foods while gathering the foods they like. Allowing the children to serve themselves helps them feel in control, which is particularly important. Remember, they may not be ready to eat these new foods, or even have them on the plate, but being around all the smells and sights is a big step for our picky eaters. After everyone has served themselves, you can start the meal! Model eating through utensil use, taking appropriate-sized bites, and exploring foods using your senses. You can also use the comfort scale so your child can express how they feel about the food on the table. While eating, take the pressure off the food by talking about other things, such as how everyone’s day was, movies, or fun topics your family enjoys.  

Mealtimes and feeding can be a stressful and busy part of our days. But if we slow down and become present, it can make a dramatic difference to our children’s lives. Eating together is a social experience that promotes bonding and a sense of safety. Let us know the benefits you have seen from family mealtime together, and check out this blog on how to make mealtimes fun! 

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