Dinner Together, family meals, picky eaters

“…when families eat dinner together, parents can teach children table manners, social skills, family values, a sense of community and basic cooking skills…”

—Iowa State University Extension study

MISSION

Research has shown that children who eat meals with their families frequently have better eating habits, better academic success, better mental health, and lower risk for both obesity and substance abuse.

Consistently bringing family members together for meals can be difficult. The busy schedules of most modern families often push the family dinner aside. Between work, children’s activities, and the demands of running a household, pulling dinner together can be a struggle. Some parents master the family meal with seemingly little effort, but many resort to take-out, drive-thru, or other processed food alternatives, frequently with guilty feelings attached.

In addition, parents face major challenges in raising children to be healthy eaters in the midst of a culture with rising obesity rates and sometimes contradictory health and nutrition information. Parents are often left feeling overwhelmed and confused.

You don’t have to feel guilty. It’s challenging to get everyone together and serve a healthy, home-cooked meal, but it can be done. You
can learn skills to make enjoyable family meals a reality. You can learn effective methods to raise successful eaters. Let Dinner Together help.

Our mission at Dinner Together is to help families share more healthy, home-cooked meals in a relaxed, connected fashion.

Dinner Together works with families to develop skills and techniques for efficient meal planning and preparation in order to reduce the stress and increase the pleasure of bringing family members together for shared meals. In addition, Dinner Together provides education, consultation, and coaching to families with concerns about their children’s eating behaviors. Phone consultations are available nationwide. Home-based services are available in Rockland, Bergen, and Westchester counties and surrounding areas.

HISTORY AND BIO

Dinner Together was founded by Dr. Kathleen Cuneo. Kathleen earned her doctoral degree in Applied Developmental Psychology from Fordham University. She has worked with children and families for the past two decades, including home-based work in which she has successfully helped clients identify problems, develop solution focused strategies, and learn new skills for more effective and happier family life. Kathleen has counseled children of all ages, and has extensive experience with toddlers, preschool age children, and children with special needs. She is also the mother of three children and an avid home cook.

Kathleen founded Dinner Together in 2008 for three major reasons. First, she observed that a lot of preschool clients, her friends’ children and her own children had behavior problems related to eating, such as restlessness at the table and picky eating. Second, in researching these problems, Kathleen learned that, even though pulling them together is a challenge, family meals are important for the health of children. And third, Kathleen has had success in addressing these issues with her family and some of the families that she has worked with and she wanted to share her success with more families.

“…kids who reported eating more family meals per week reported significantly less substance use and significantly better academic and mental health than those eating fewer meals with family.”

—Marla Eisenberg,
ScD, MPH

University of Minnesota

Follow me on Twitter

For information
on Dr. Cuneo's empowered parenting program, visit her website www.drcuneo.com