We had a super busy weekend. So much so, that I don’t have any dinner photo journals to post about. On Saturday for dinner we were at my son’s friend’s birthday party.
Dinner with friends
Eating over at friend’s houses can be stressful. I think this is especially true if the friends don’t have kids and are expecting dinner to go just as smoothly as a dinner party with only adults in attendance.
Fortunately, we were at a dinner party with families and this helps set the expectations at a more manageable level.
The Kids Table
At this dinner party, the kids sat at at the patio table together and the adults sat on the patio furniture. The menu was what I describe as kid-friendly:
- Hamburgers
- Watermelon
- Pasta Salad
- Broccoli Salad
It was also served buffet style, so I my children and I were able to build their plates together before they sat down to eat.
What did they eat
My one son had a hamburger, no sides. My other son had a bun with ketchup and mustard (no hamburger) and some watermelon. Neither one wanted the pasta salad or broccoli salad. And I was totally ok with that. I didn’t put anything they didn’t want on their plates.
They also ate some ice cream cake for dessert – yum! The meal for me was very low stress as the kids table prevented me or the other adults from closely watching to see what the kids were or were not eating. The buffet style serving allowed each parent/kid combo to make up the plate that was right for each kid, without too much time for anyone to observe what the other parent/kid combos were doing.
Do kids eat better when they eat together?
I feel like it’s common knowledge that kids eat better when they eat together. I have heard many anecdotes about children eating better at school or in daycare settings than they do at home. But I was curious to see if any research supported this notion.
I came across a systematic literature review of 2020 that examined the “The influence of peers′ and siblings′ on children’s and adolescents′ healthy eating behavior“. Systematic reviews are often considered the highest or best types of evidence because they include a combination of results from different studies, as opposed to basing conclusions on a single study. You can read more about levels of scientific evidence here.
Interestingly, the authors reported that results were mixed. Which is to say that in some cases, friends and peers positively influenced eating habits (had kids eating more healthy foods) but in other cases the influence was negative (kids ate less healthy foods when they were with their friends).
What factors might influence if kids eat better or worse with their peers?
This study highlighted a few reasons why the results might be mixed:
- Gender – there appears to be more pressure for girls to eat healthier than boys, so girls eating together may eat better than boys eating together
- Environments – environments where healthy foods are encouraged might be positive, whereas in other environments where less healthy foods are promoted, peer-influence may increase intake of less healthy foods.
- Age – Adolescents may experience more peer pressure to eat less healthy meals and likely consume more meals or snacks with friends compared to younger kids.
So what?
Going to dinner parties with kids can be stressful. If you are hosting the dinner party or are able to influence how food is served at the dinner party, encouraging:
- Meals to be served buffet or family style can help give kids and families more autonomy over what goes on each kids plates
- Create a menu (or offer to bring something) that has some kid friendly foods – e.g. watermelon slices or fresh buns
Will having a kids table help kids eat better? Maybe – peer pressure around eating can be both positive and negative. It’s not a guarantee that kids will eat better with their peers. So, don’t discount the importance of creating positive family meals at home with your family as much as you can.
