Time to slow down

That might seem like a strange thing to say on a blog called Real Food Fast, but here's how I got there. So much of the busyness that we experience, especially during the school year, comes from over-scheduling. How many activities does each child have to involved in? Does every single minute have to be devoted to "life preparation"?

Please, let's slow down this year, at least enough to have dinner together most nights of the week. Even if that means everyone eating later than we're used to. Here's why:

"For young children, meal time at home is a stronger predictor of academic achievement and psychological adjustment than time spent in school, studying, sports, church/religious activities, or art activities."
~ William J Doherty, PhD, Professor of family social science at the University of Minnesota and author of The Intentional Family.

Doherty goes on to say that older kids benefit greatly too from the family dinner. For them, it is not just a predictor of academic success, but also correlates highly with low alcohol and drug use, avoiding early sexual behavior, and low suicide rate.

So, let's be busy, but let's also keep it all in perspective. Meal time is important, the fellowship as well as the food quality. My belief is that if you prepare meals that are amazing (but don't take too much time), you can train even the most slap-dash group to sit and enjoy. Enjoy each other as well as the food :-)

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