{"id":7687,"date":"2013-10-15T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/the-lifelong-importance-of-family-meals\/"},"modified":"2013-10-15T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2013-10-15T00:00:00","slug":"the-lifelong-importance-of-family-meals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/togethercounts.com\/es\/the-lifelong-importance-of-family-meals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lifelong Importance of Family Meals"},"content":{"rendered":"

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No matter who you consider your family to be, it\u2019s vitally important to everyone\u2019s health and well-being to sit down regularly and eat meals together, according to Miriam Weinstein, author of The Surprising Power of Family Meals<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our over-scheduled, hyper-individualized culture, there are endless forces pulling families apart,\u201d she says. \u201cOne of the reasons that family meals are so important is that there are so few things that families commonly do together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the most common excuses for not gathering the family together to sit and eat are after-school or after-work activities, working overtime, long commutes, not enough time and not knowing how to cook.<\/p>\n

But, Weinstein told us, people have to think about what\u2019s really important to their family.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of our kids will not grow up to be professional athletes or musicians. But most of them will grow up to live in families,\u201d she says. \u201cIt makes sense to develop the habits and skills that will really help us throughout life.\u201d Family meals together help families develop lifelong habits, which is so important to The Together CountsTM<\/sup><\/a>Program.<\/p>\n

According to Weinstein, one of the biggest benefits of having family meals is the comforting knowledge that the family will get together on a regular basis for a low-key check-in.<\/p>\n

And because it\u2019s so important, people need to have the confidence to say, \u201cThis is important to me and my family and this is what I want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the pressure to participate in many activities and the feeling of being pulled in many directions, having a meal together offers immediate rewards. \u201cFamily members feel better about themselves and about the family. All of the long-term benefits are bonuses.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of those long-term benefits include:<\/p>\n