How Do Family Mealtimes and Other Daily Routines Enhance a Child’s Well-Being?
This list contains a variety of resources associated with how family mealtimes enhance a child’s well-being.
IEL Resources
- Tip Sheet: The Gift of Words: Conversation and Routines
- Tip Sheet: Making the Holidays Memorable and Meaningful
Web Resources
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The Importance of Family Mealtime (PDF)
Source: University of Nebraska Lincoln
It has been shown that families who eat together are healthier and happier. This article encourages families to cook together, eat together, talk together, and make mealtime a family time.
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A Review of 50 Years of Research on Naturally Occurring Family Routines and Rituals: Cause for Celebration? (PDF)
Source: Journal of Family Psychology
This article notes that when there are predictable routines in the family, young children are healthier and their behavior is better regulated.
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Understanding and Guiding How Your Child Eats (PDF)
Source: University of Pittsburgh
This guide suggests ways that parents can make family meals fun and pleasurable while promoting good eating habits.
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Family Meals
Source: KidsHealth
This parent discusses how to plan, prepare, and share family meals. In addition to health and nutrition benefits, family meals provide a valuable opportunity to reconnect.
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Family Routines
Source: RaisingChildren.net.au
This points out that routines are how families organize themselves to get things done, spend time together, and have fun. It discusses different kinds of routines and why they are good for both children and parents.
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Why Are Family Routines So Important to Children?
also in SpanishSource: American Academy of Pediatrics
This resource discusses ways to establish effective family routines.
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Correlates of Family Routines in Head Start Families
Source: Early Childhood Research and Practice
This study suggests that establishing family routines could contribute to mothers’ overall well-being, but that establishing routines as an intervention in Head Start may have limited potential.
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Family Routines and Rituals: A Context for Development in the Lives of Young Children (PDF)
Source: Infants and Young Children
This article notes that naturally occurring family routines and meaningful rituals provide both a predictable structure that guides behavior and an emotional climate that supports early development.
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The Benefits & Tricks to Having a Family Dinner
also in SpanishSource: American Academy of Pediatrics
This article presents 5 ways that family meals keep kids healthy.
About this Resource
- Resource List
Setting(s) for which the article is intended:
- Family Child Care
- Home
Intended audience(s):
- Parents / Family
Age Levels (the age of the children to whom the article applies):
- Preschoolers (Age 3 Through Age 5)
Related Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards: