The Family Team
March 24, 2008
Did you know? Over a recent 16-year-period, the amount of time that children spent watching other people (like their siblings) play sports rose five-fold.
If you're like most parents, you spend a lot of time getting your kids to team practices, or cheering at games. I have passed many summer evenings sitting in a folding chair keeping one eye on the Little League contest, another on the sideline pipsqueak activities, all while trying to keep the take-out sandwiches away from the ants.
Being on a team, playing a musical instrument, being part of a club –these are all admirable endeavors. But it helps to keep them in perspective. How many of our kids will spend their adult lives as professional members of athletic teams or symphony orchestras?
Most, however, will be members of families. Doesn't it make sense to develop the "muscles" that help to create a rewarding family life?
Working with other family members – making and enjoying meals together -- helps to strengthen the family team. Which is the longest-running league that you and your kids will ever play for.
Mealtimes Matter Video
from Miriam Weinstein
About Miriam
Miriam Weinstein is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. As a journalist, she has won several awards from the New England Press Association. Her work has appeared in Boston Magazine, the Boston Globe magazine, Hope, and ParentSource. A former staff member for North Shore Weeklies and freelancer for Essex County Newspapers, she writes restaurant reviews and food columns as well as features on a wide variety of subjects. She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts, with her husband and has two grown children.
The Surprising Power of Family Meals
In her book, The Surprising Power of Family Meals, Miriam Weinstein shows how this basic human institution helps nourish and strengthen our families today. You can buy this book from our friends at Smucker's® Online Store.
