We are in the midst of remodeling our kitchen, and so our house is an entire mess.  Our make-shift kitchen consists of our fridge, microwave, coffee machine and toaster, and it's all situated in the kids' playroom.  We are pretty lucky to have a nice utility sink in our laundry room, but of course it does not have a disposal and it's on the complete opposite side of the kitchen, which is a total construction mess.  But, I'm not complaining because it's far better than having to wash sippy cups and wine glasses in the bathroom.  Naturally we filling up the landfills with our paper plates, cups and plastic spoons, but we do our best to recycle and wash/reuse the forks and spoons as much as possible. 

Unbeknownst to me, the freezer section of the grocery store is stocked full of a huge variety of casseroles, pasta dishes and vegetables that are easily cooked in the microwave.  I'm pretty sure a human being can feed themselves forever on just the microwaveable food choices.  And, they don't taste too bad either.  And, I do my best to buy them often as well as the deli-made meals at Sam's (they are very good if you haven't tried them, and much cheaper than the grocery store).  Most days, though, the husband and I are in no mood to clean up the subsequent mess created by the three energetic, messy little people in our house who always seem to want to eat.  It's not easy to wipe down all the surfaces without a sink and sponge nearby.  Oh, how I never truly appreciated sponges, sinks and garbage disposals. 

This whole experience is a little like camping, except we have decent running water, although not close to our 'camp' site.  And, no one has to vacuum, mop or wipe down a camp site, so I would almost rather have set our little kitchen up outside if it weren't for all the terrible mosquitoes.  Because we get so lazy on the clean-up front we have been eating out alot, which is tasty, fattening and pleasant only because they do the clean-up.  It all comes at a price since it's expensive and I don't have to tip myself extra when the kids leave an especially great mess at home.  But, we do it anyway, and have become savvy to where kids eat free on what days, which really makes a difference.  Usually it's only one free kid meal per paying adult, so we often have to pay for one kid meal, but it's better than nothing.  Eating out gets old, and I'm ready to have my kitchen back.  Toddler meal time and wood floors were not meant to   We've got another 3 weeks or so.  Ugh.

I found this great website that lists where kids eat free or have good deals, and it's all listed by area and it seems pretty extensive.  Next time you want to go out, check it out.  It's called Kids Meal Deals.  It would be really great if they listed places with play areas, but maybe I can suggest that to them! 

             I teach at an at-risk high school, so many of my students do not live in the stereotypical American family situation.  I was surprised when I mentioned family dinners in class one day and most of the students said they did not eat meals regularly as a family.  They said that they or their parents had to work or were just out of the house or they all just sat in front of the TV or, like one girl said, they just got some food and everyone went to their own rooms to eat alone.  All of the students wished that their families sat down together to eat a meal.  It was quite sad, and I couldn’t believe it.  I had family dinners almost every night of my life growing up and had obviously taken it for granted.

            A great deal of research conducted about family meal time shows that children and adults both agree that it is important, yet only about half of teenagers said they had regular family meals (1).  And, obviously, they want to have that time with their parents.  Other research suggests a correlation between regular family meals and better grades, lower marijuana and other drug use, lower chances of eating disorders, lower rates of risky sexual behavior, less chance of depression or suicide, and an increase in healthy eating habits (2).  How can this not be one of the most important things done as a family??

            As a result of regularly sitting down as a family without the distraction of TVs, phones, etc, young people have a greater chance of acquiring an expanded vocabulary as a result of regular conversation with adults and kids tend were 40% more likely to earn A’s and B’s in school (1).  All of the above factors combine to create less stress for everyone involved because there are less poor report cards and discipline problems in and out of school.

            Schedules these days are crazy.  Everyone’s doing something: dance, soccer, football, clubs, youth groups and the list can go on and on and on.  But, family meals do not need to be long, nor do they have to be elaborate to get the job done.  Sometimes they may be as quick and 15 minutes, they may be later than usual or they may be over paper plates and take-out, but the importance remains the same.   It’s never to early to start this ritual in your home, and there are tons of websites that provide quick, easy, healthy meals that can be cooked in a hurry if time is in short supply around your house like it is at mine!  The benefits are priceless, so start today!!

1. http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Health/story?id=1123055&page=1
2. http://www.ncfr.org/pdf/zippy_news/Fam_Meals_Children_Park_Nicollet_9-14-09.pdf

More related articles:

http://www.barillaus.com/Pages/Expert-Advice-Detail.aspx?AdviceArticleID=3&AdviceAuthor=Dr.-William-Doherty

http://nutrition.wsu.edu/ebet/background.html

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html