Get back to the table month

When I was growing up we almost always at supper at the table together as a family. Eating in front of the TV was a special treat. But as I've grown older, eating together at the table as become much more rare for families. I'm not sure if it is the growing amount of TV shows, or the extremely busy schedules that families are taking on, but it is a declining practice.

Eating together as a family in the dining room, not the living room, is something we are trying to do much more of, even if several people are not home. Libby's is sponsoring a "Get Back to the Table Month" campaign. It is such a wonderful idea to bring attention to this family activity, especially as fall schedules are starting back up distracting people from what is good.

There are so many benefits of eating together as a family. For us, we get so much information from the kids that way. They love to talk and get attention, and we all love to play and tease and have a good time at the table.

But now there are some proven benefits for eating together that should encourage us all to make time for this important family event several times a week.

1. Research shows that children who eat dinner with their families five or more times a week are more likely to have higher grades in school – regardless of gender, family structure or economic status.

2. According to the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, frequent family meals have been linked to a lower risk of smoking, drinking and using marijuana. When you spend more time with your kids at the dinner table, it’s easier to spot changes in behavior and develop a better relationship with them.

3. Researchers at Emory University found that pre-teens whose parents tell family stories at dinner have higher self-esteem and get along better with their peers during their teen years.

4. A University of Minnesota study found that kids in families who watched TV while eating meals together had a poorer diet than children whose families ate together around a table. Boys who watched TV while eating ate fewer vegetables and grains and drank more soft drinks while girls who watched TV ended up eating fewer dark vegetables and more fried food.

5. Studies show that teenage girls who ate five or more meals per week with their families were less likely to resort to extreme dieting measures such as self-induced vomiting, diet pills or laxatives. This was true regardless of socioeconomic status, body mass index or family connectedness.

Those are pretty strong reasons for making it a tradition to eat together every chance you get! It has made a difference in my motivation to eat together as a family.

If you head over to Libby's website you can find coupons, recipes, and shopping tips to save you time and money. You can also head over there and enter the contest to win a dinner backstage with Sara Evens! Now, I am not a music fanatic, so I don't know who she is, but Kaytlin confiscated the Sara Evens CD that Mom Central and Libby's sent me, and Kaytlin is a huge music buff, so if she likes her, she is good.