The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 18, Ed. 1 Monday, March 4, 2002 Page: 15 of 33
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Paul Fenn’s family, including daughter Meghan and son Jeremy, share stories during frequent dinners together.
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Vicki Broun is American Profile’s Central editor.
American Profile • Page 7
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sionate
Virtues
a story
family
“Parents who raise moral kids don’t do so by acci-
dent,” Borba says. “Conscience is formed by helping
them reason why something is right or wrong.”
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Keep it up
Getting everyone in the family together for a meal is more difficult now that
everyone is so busy, says Wende Douglas' daughter, Heather, 12, who cooks to
help keep those meals in the dining room going.
Wende laughs about that. “She’s a natural in the kitchen. She sets the table
with a tablecloth and candles and the whole bit."
But she likes to see the table look different and to cook things she and her
brother and sister like, such as meatballs and potatoes, Heather says. "My broth-
er and sister like my cooking more than my mom’s.”
Perhaps because “mom’s" includes Brussels sprouts and such. •
Family meals let parents model good eating habits, says Diane Quagliani, a
registered dietician and spokeswoman for the American Dietetic Association.
“If kids see parents eating all kinds of foods, fruits and vegetables, they are more
likely to try them,” she says.
Nutrition is not the only benefit. A study by a presidential Council of Eco-
nomic Advisors found teenagers who had dinner with their parents five nights
a week were more likely than other teens to avoid drinking, smoking, violence,
suicide, and drugs. (The council could not say, however, whether sharing fami-
ly meals helps teens avoid risks, or that risk-taking teens avoided family meals.)
get big
lanners.
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Healthier, better adjusted children
Research shows that children who eat with their parents have healthier diets, says
Dr. Karen Cullen. A nutritionist at the Children’s Research Center at Baylor College of
Medicine in Waco, Texas, Cullen studied 300 children at 12 schools who recorded what
they ate, with whom they ate, and whether they watched television at meals.
Family meals involved healthier, lower-fat foods, such as chicken with the
skin off and more vegetables, the study found.
Mealtime prayer and telling about their day are traditions for the Greenwald family,
clockwise from upper left, Dad Tom, Vince, >, Mom Allison, Anna, 12, and Miles, 10.
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It appears to work. Meghan, 13, says her older brother and sister, Amy and
Joshua, tell her she really will appreciate her family when she leaves home.
“They say the thing they miss the most is being together as a family,"
Meghan says, adding that family dinner is just plain fun. "We like to laugh and
tell funny stories."
Anna Greenwald, 12, of Ames, Iowa, likes her family 's mealtime prayers and
the ritual of telling one good thing about their day and one bad thing. “I don't
see my family that much because we re all busy. I probably like learning about
everyone’s day the most, trying to encourage my little brothers in what they are
doing," she says.
Sitting in the dining room ensures the meal is less rushed. She feels lucky
that her family eats together regularly. “(At the home of) one friend of mine, the
kids eat at one time and rhe parents at another.”
Make a commitment
Starting early is crucial, says Paul Fenn, a I
Pomerene, Ariz., teacher whose five children now I
range in age from 13 to 22. “You have to develop the I
habits, so when you want to talk to them, it won’t be I
a foreign situation,” Fenn says.
He admits it’s not easy—especially with his wife, f
Robin, also a teacher, in graduate school; two 3
teenaged boys playing football; and a busy 13-year- |
old daughter. The two older Fenn offspring are away i;
on yearlong church missions.
The Fenns commit to togetherness by letting J
nothing interfere with Monday family night. They I
always eat Sunday dinner together and aim for two or I
three more nights a week. “We need that time to be J
able to discuss what’s going on in our lives," Fenn
says, who says breakfast also can be a primary meal
for families with busy evening schedules.
Planning and preparation
Having dinner on the table takes planning, says Melissa Loy, a single working
mother in Clancy, Mont. (pop. 1,406). "A lot of times on the weekend I’m doing
prep work for the meals during the week. You have to be very organized," she says.
She keeps meals simple. “We barbecue on the grill a lot."
Daughters Dayna, 11, and Shawn, 9, usually do homework while she cooks, but
each girl does the dishes three nights a week. "It’s a time that you can observe your
children to see if everything is going well in their world," Loy says.
Cullen and Quagliani both warn against setting the bar too high. "Don’t feel it
has to be a big production. There are so many wonderful fast options in the super-
market—pre-prepped entrees, vegetables, or pre-cut fruit," Quagliani says.
Cullen suggests outlining lists of meals with recipes that are fast and enlisting
children's help. “They gain a skill and confidence that they can do things," Cullen
says. "But you can't just show up after work and expect to get dinner on the table.
You have to have a plan in place.”
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Schwind, Jim & Holton, Kathleen. The Alvin Sun (Alvin, Tex.), Vol. 111, No. 18, Ed. 1 Monday, March 4, 2002, newspaper, March 4, 2002; Alvin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1602791/m1/15/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Alvin Community College.