Tag Archives: family

Bring The Family Together For Meal Time

By StatePoint  

Photo courtesy: StatePoint

Photo courtesy: StatePoint

Between work and school-year commitments, it can be difficult to carve out time to sit down at the table and enjoy a home-cooked dinner as a family, but it is well worth the effort. In addition to offering an opportunity to bond, eating together and engaging in conversation can have a deeper influence on children. Follow these tips to bring the family together and create a lasting tradition.

Mark the Calendar

Create a monthly calendar that incorporates a few meals a week in which everyone can be present when there are no sports, activities or after-work functions. Research shows that children benefit when the family eats together at least three times a week. In fact, reported improvements range from healthy eating habits to improved literacy and verbal skills, according to the Family Dinner Project. If three dinners is a stretch for your busy family, consider morning brunches or evening desserts.

Create a Family-Friendly Menu

Integrate family favorites to create excitement around supper, such as a weekly pizza night. Make homemade crust as a team and craft personal pies incorporating fresh toppings, such as bell peppers, onions, spinach, zucchini and tomatoes. To further maximize time, create dishes on a weekend to freeze and thaw when ready. Try a simple tortilla soup that can be prepared in minutes using a high-performance blender, such as a Vitamix.

Have Hands-on Meal Prep

Incorporate the kids into every step of meal prep in a safe and easy way. Drop vegetables into the blender to chop for pizza or salad toppings, tortilla soup or even a Taco Tuesday fiesta. Then, allow kids to add these veggies to the recipe. Engage your children further by having them set timers and watch for meals to cook. As a final step, allow them to add spices and fresh herbs before setting dinner on the table. Fast and tasty family recipe ideas that you can create together can be found at Vitamix.com.

Turn Off Electronics

Make the table an electronic-free zone. Turn off cell phones and television shows to make room for face-to-face communication. Removing cell phones from the equation can positively influence the quality of conversation, while helping kids to gain a better understanding of social cues, facial expressions and changes in tone that lead to more fruitful interactions, according to a study by researchers at Virginia Tech. Unplugged conversations can help create memorable family moments.

Think of the kitchen and the dinner table as family gathering places to help instill good habits — from great communication skills to healthier eating. If you look at meals as more than just food, your family will reap the benefits.

What Love Is

BY JENNIFER MADRIGAL

Jennifer

I learned my greatest lesson about love from my Grandpa Jester. Surprisingly, the lesson came long after his mind and memories had left him, and all that remained was just what he was at his core. My grandpa loved his family and his wife, and was genuinely kind to everyone. He stood for what he believed and defended his thoughts passionately, but with respect. When he was wronged, he looked at both sides and didn’t always assume he was right. But most of all, my grandpa was truly a good man.

Alzheimer’s disease came and stole parts of his mind and most of his memoires. While many people with this disease lose their “filters” and become increasingly more difficult, my grandpa stayed kind. Often times he would hop up and try and help out with the chores he always did. He would still make jokes and then forget the punch line, but laugh anyway. As his disease progressed, the secret winks he used to always give me from across the room stopped, and at that point I knew he had really forgotten me. However, he once told me that he couldn’t remember who I was but that he did know that he sure did love me. With all the great moments I shared with him, I always knew I was loved without end and that he was always proud of me. When my mother passed away, he sat at her funeral, tears streaming down his face, reliving her passing like a repeating loop in a bad movie. Although he wasn’t sure exactly what was going on, he knew we were all hurting and it broke his heart.

 

The moment that I really understood what it means to love another person came one morning after my grandma had learned that her brother died. My grandpa sat in his chair watching her as she tried to hide the anguish she was feeling. Although we tried to keep him from seeing her upset, he continued to watch her and then stood up with his shaking legs and bad balance and walked into the kitchen with her. He took her into his arms and hugged her tight, telling her it would be okay. He saw her pain, and knew that “his girl” was hurting. That moment was so profound and even years later I can still see the look of concern on his face. At that moment I understood that love is not a word you say because it makes people smile, love is something that lives on long after your memories fade. It is what you know and feel at the very core of your being. When you truly love someone their pain becomes your pain and even when lost in the cloud of Alzheimer’s, or age, or whatever else, that love remains. To me, that’s what love is.

 

 

Teach Your Children To Love Their Elders

BY NORMA PADILLA-MURAKAMI

The elderly, often times, are forgotten; but how can we change this? It really is pretty simple, but it takes thought. As long as you are instructing and reinforcing a few simple steps, you can instill the importance of elderly care in your children.

Whether you are caring for aging parents, grandparents, neighbors, or the elderly from your church fellowship, teaching your children how to value life – whether it be young or old – is imperative. Try incorporating these ideas into your family routines.

Visit the Elderly: Be it at their home, an assisted living facility, or just down the hall in your own home, spend some time together. You can play card games, make a meal together, bake cookies, or pick flowers from the garden. Remember some of the things that they can no longer do, like raking leaves, changing light bulbs, and general housekeeping. Let your children see you do these things, as well as making phone calls, and including the elderly in your family outings. Teach them to slow down, and take a few moments to show they care.

I often think about a youth group from my church. Each Mother’s Day they host a tea, and every Christmas they put on a dinner theatre for the elderly. The youth decorate, serve, and are basically in charge of the events. This makes the elderly feel needed and appreciated. It shows they are not forgotten and left to feel lonely, but are valued by our youth.

Try incorporating some of these simple practices into your family or church as soon as your children are able to imitate what you do. Ensuring that the elderly in your life are not forgotten is a lesson in the value of life.

Norma Padilla-Murakami is a wife, mother of four adult children, and has six grandchildren. She is a former parenting class instructor with her husband, Tim.