Family-style eating – what is it? Well it’s in the name! Sitting down to share the same foods with your family, while talking with one another. Every part of the meal is laid out on the table, and each member chooses how much to put on their own plate.
What’s so great about family-style eating? Well quite a bit actually! Family-style eating can help children with their development and social growth. They learn to make decisions along with self-help skills! Learn more about what family-style eating can teach your children!
When children have all their options in front of them, they are the ones choosing what to eat. This teaches them to make their own healthy, nutritious choices, setting them up to develop healthy habits in their future. Another way children develop healthy habits for the future is by learning how to control their portions. By filling their own plates, children learn how much they can eat. This also allows them to discover new foods in an open setting and develop positive attitudes toward food.
Motor skills are also developed when children pass, pour, and scoop food.
By eating with the entire family, children are encouraged to learn their manners. By politely asking for someone to pass the food, saying please and thank you, children learn the importance of these things when they are consistently in a setting where they need to use them. Most importantly, when the entire family eats together, it’s time for them to bond! Children and adults alike engage in important social skills by conversing with one another.
At Childventures, we eat every meal together family-style and now you know why! Learn more about our Nutrition Program here!