Family-style meals: we have them at home. Why not eat that way in school too? Check out this nine-minute video by the Arizona Department of Health Services to find out how to implement family-style meals at your kindergarten or childcare centre.
School meals—especially in the age of Covid-19—are quick, quiet and sometimes dull affairs. Often, children line up for uniform servings of lunch and retreat silently to their own corners to eat. Conversation is discouraged.
While this may seem efficient, such mealtimes are missed opportunities for pleasure and learning.
Really, research tells us that children should eat family-style meals. When children sit around the table rather than queue for food, they have less anxiety about when and how much they will eat.
When children are allowed to serve food to themselves—instead of unquestioningly accepting one-size-fits-all portions—they are more likely to notice when they are full.
Another benefit of family-style feeding is that it allows for more communication among adults and children. Young children should be encouraged to participate in dialogue over food and to develop their own personal tastes.
After all, more pleasure and enjoyment during mealtimes are associated with increased intake of foods that meet nutritional recommendations (e.g., fruits and vegetables) among children.
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