Home with the Kids Newsletter July 10, 2007

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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter
Feature Article - Family Dinner Time
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The Editor's Desk - From Beneath the Clutter

We finally did it yesterday. Had Gage tested to see if he needed speech therapy. The answer?

Yes.

He's doing great in most areas. They tested everything, motor skills and so forth, and in many areas he was at an appropriate level or ahead. That didn't surprise me, especially when it came to fine motor skills. When you have a child who at 18 months was working with beads his sister couldn't do at 3 years of age, you don't worry too much about whether or not fine motor skills are developing fast enough.

But it was also clear to them that his comprehension is pretty much fine. It's just that he doesn't express himself verbally. So they're going to get us set up with some services for him, get things moving. He'll only have about a half year in this program, as at age 3 he become the school district's problem, so after just a few months they'll be starting the paperwork for that.

It's been tough wondering what to do and asking for help with him. No parents like thinking their child is less than perfect. But I'm confident that with some help Gage will catch up verbally. He's so quick with everything else.

Feature Article

Family Dinner Time

The importance of sitting down together at dinner time to revel in each other's company and share the day's events can't be emphasized enough. Unfortunately, in the rush of our busy lives, in many homes across America, the dinner hour is getting the brush off. Indeed, a recent USA Today survey asked family members how much time they spend together at the dinner table and here's what they said:

 More than one hour ~ 2%

 More than 40 minutes ~ 6%

 31 to 40 minutes ~ 16%

 21 to 30 minutes ~ 35%

 11 to 20 minutes ~ 25%

 10 minutes of less ~ 17%

To put it another way, 77% of the respondents admitted to spending 30 minutes or less gathered together for dinner--and that's just not enough. Says the University of Minnesota's Mary Storm, Ph.D., "The kids aren't the problem, it's what we're modeling for them that's the problem. Americans are eating more on the run. They're serving fewer fruits and vegetables at home and eating more at fast- food restaurants. They're having fewer family meals and eating more convenience food."

Let's face it, nothing beats a home-cooked meal, even it's only mom's or dad's not-so-famous meatloaf. Nuking a frozen dinner, heating up a sodium-laden can of soup, or regularly ordering a pizza just doesn't measure up. Neither does eating alone in the company of a television or grabbing a snack bar on the way out the door. Senator Hillary Clinton agrees, saying, "One of the greatest casualties of modern life--of fast food, TV, and more stressful hours at work-- has been family time, the time during meals, for instance, when parents and children can check in with each other." So, make a date to regroup as a family around the dinner table, if not nightly then at least several times a week. Is it important? You bet. For instance . . .

* John F. Kennedy and his siblings reported on one current event every evening at dinner.

* Says Emeril Lagasse, "I grew up around the dinner table. We still do that every Sunday. I throw a few pots on the stove, and we just talk and enjoy."

* Says actress Patricia Heaton, "Now we all (sons Sam, John, & Danny) sit down to dinner every night at 5:30 p.m., and we don't answer the phone after 5:00 p.m."

* From Evie Hanson comes, "Our family used to have a big dinner on Sunday . . . Sometimes it was midday, sometimes it was in the evening, but always something to look forward to . . . The dinners were an ending and a beginning to a week of school and work. Our family sat and chatted for an hour and more. Our Sunday dinners set us up for the days ahead and took the sting out of some of the activities of the days past."

And just in case you need more convincing on the importance of coming together for meals, award-winning writer William R. Mattox, Jr. offers this reminder: "Children in families that regularly dine together do significantly better in school than children who are malnourished in the mealtime discussion department." He then goes even further by adding that, ". . . Eating family meals together has a more positive impact on student achievement than time spent attending school, studying, going to church, playing sports, or participating in artistic endeavors." If you ask me, it doesn't get any better than that, so here are some healthy steps to take, if you haven't done so already:

1. Include two vegetables and two fruits.

2. To boost stamina, serve beans, lean beef, turkey, seafood, and whole grains.

3. Wean your family off of whole milk, getting them used to 2% and then skim--and make it organic, if possible.

4. Use no-stick cooking spray to replace most of the oil when cooking.

5. Try converting high-fat recipes into low-fat versions.

6. Make salads with spinach, field greens, or romaine lettuce instead of iceberg.

7. Occasionally serve new foods like tofu or veggie burgers--they might just catch on.

8. When trying new foods go for colorful ones, such as papaya, mangos, kiwi, eggplant, beets, and sweet potatoes. (Baked sweet potato fries top Idahos every time!)

9. Substitute brown rice and whole wheat pasta for the white versions.

10. Limit desserts; better yet, make it fruit.

carol@schoolwisebooks.com; www.schoolwisebooks.com

My career in academia spans 30 years, much of it reflected in my many presentations and publications for parents, teachers, and students, including Getting School-Wise, Other-Wise and School-Wise, and ESL Activities for Every Month of the School Year.

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