Family Meal Time

Eating meals together is a great way to improve the health of children and parents while spending quality time together. Eating together as a family provides an opportunity to model healthy eating habits. When families eat together they are more likely to eat healthier. There are many benefits of eating together such as: improving communication, modelling manners and offering stability, introducing new foods, preventing disruptive behaviour, and improving academic performance.[1] Eating as a family also provides parents with benefits such as: an opportunity to teach values and traditions, eating healthier, and saving money by eating out less often.[2]

Family Meal Times can be a fun way to connect and establish a routine. Parents can involve their children in creating a weekly meal plan. Use this meal plan to create a shopping list for the week. This can be a fun learning opportunity for children of different ages as you can have them help create the list by brainstorming or practicing their writing skills. Involving the whole family during grocery shopping provides parents with the chance to show their children where their food comes from and allows them to be part of the healthy food choice process.

Sometimes preparing dinner can be more fun than eating it. Take some of the stress out of dinner preparation by giving everyone in the family a task. When children are involved in making dinner they are more likely to eat it. Depending on the age of the kids they can be involved in anything from washing vegetables, to stirring, to grating cheese. Having kids help cook and clean also teaches them valuable skills and responsibility. For super busy days meals can be prepared ahead of time so that your family can have a chance sit together and eat. Casseroles are a food that can be prepared ahead of time and then frozen for days when life gets crazy.

When you actually sit down for to eat it is important to create a pleasant atmosphere. Turn of TVs and avoid answering phones during dinner. Conversation is a key part of Family Meal Time, you can talk about your day, what you have planned for the weekend, or have everyone tell a joke.

Family Meal Time is a great way to establish a weekly routine and spend quality time together. It will improve the health and happiness of the whole family.

For fun family recipes check out these websites:

Family Fun Dinner Recipes

Growing Up Healthy

For conversation starter ideas:

Eating Together is Good for Families

Dinner Table Talk

The Family Dinner Project

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[1] www.eatingtogether.ca

[2] Fraser Health Authority, http://www.fraserhealth.ca/your_health/school_health/community_resources/school_health_tips/meal_times_are_fun_for_the_whole_family_

The Energy Drink Dilemma

What’s new in Canadian health? Well, recently an expert panel for Health Canada has recommended regulations on energy drinks. Based upon their high caffeine content the panel believes they should be labeled as a “stimulating drug drink”, sold only in pharmacies, and consumed under pharmacist supervision (schmidt, 2011).

But where does all the concern about energy drinks come from?

The primary concern lays with the popularity and over consumption of energy drinks within the younger population. The recommended daily caffeine intake for those under 12 is 2.5mg/kg of body weight, or about 1-2 12oz cans of cola a day (Health Canada, 2010). The caffeine content found in the top 5 most popular energy drinks ranges from 80-174mg. Youth are exposed naturally to caffeine through certain foods and beverages, but now are increasing their exposure by ingesting these highly caffeinated drinks. Too much caffeine results in known health effects including general toxicity (nausea, irritability), heart rate, cholesterol and blood pressure issues, to name a few (2010). And so, the issue lies with youth’s increased vulnerability to caffeine intoxication due to their inexperience with and decreased tolerance to caffeine because of simple characteristics like age or weight.

So, how do we ensure that youth are consuming energy drinks safely and responsibly when often their main concern is not with potential health risks, but rather the immediate energy boost they obtain?

Parents can become aware of health risks and disallow consumption of energy drinks, but there is only so much they can do when they are highly marketable and are made so widely available to anyone.

This is where we rely on Health Canada to act. They already provide information about potential health risks and continually review findings on recommended caffeine intake levels, but this type of action has not hindered the billion-dollar industry that is energy drinks. Now, their expert panel is calling for new action that includes tighter restrictions on the energy drink market.

As Health Canada wrestles with its decision regarding the recommendations, we as Canadians or as parents wrestle with our own involvement with energy drinks. Do we take a stance against energy drink availability? Do we find the proposed regulations too extreme? Or do we believe there is a happy medium between the two?

Here are a few links if your are interested in more information or are interested in taking action.

Click here to access an article further detailing the controversy surrounding Health Canada's panels recommendations.

Click here to access a petition encouraging sale restriction.

By: Hana MacDougall

References:

Health Canada. (2010). Caffeine. Retrieved from: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/iyh-

vsv/food-aliment/caffeine-eng.php.

Schmidt, S. (2011). Exclusive: Health Canada panel takes aim at energy drinks.

PostMedia news: The Star Pheonix. Retrieved from:

http://www.thestarphoenix.com/health/Exclusive+Health+Canada+panel+t

akes+energy+drinks/5432092/story.html.