FAMILY NIGHT

Wednesday night is Family Night! We decide on what to make together for dinner (something easy like nachos or home made pizza), gather to make dinner and then play a game together. Number 1 rule: no TV. None, not on with the sound down, not on with the sound barely audible. Not on. At all. Did I meet with resistance? You bet. Especially from the Silver Fox. He was giving me "the look". You know the one - his eyes were boring into the side of my head with a "I want to be supportive but, come on, this is really too much" sort of look. I stood firm.
Why? Because I am establishing family time, family routines, family memories. Because when we gather and are engaged in the moment, we all share our day, our thoughts, our worries. We do eat together every night with the TV off and have our own chores to do but I wanted more. I wanted to give my children security, establish good eating habits (well not with pizza or nachos but I needed some favourites to get started). Oh, the excuses that flooded in. Tweenie Girl thought we could turn the TV off between midnight and 7 am and that would count!! Lateral thinker that one! So, I soldiered on, I encouraged, buzzed around like a bee to honey and whaaalaaaa - success! They l-o-v-e it!!! All are very excited. We started off by playing a game called Mindtrap which was a little advanced for Tweenie Son and we have now moved on to Sequence which is like Connect Four but with cards. Sort of. When we tire of this I have a good Aussie jigsaw to whip out, then origami! They don't stand a chance!!!
I recently had the opportunity to hear Dr George Blair-West give a talk on obesity and weight loss. A most interesting and applicable discussion on childhood obesity, cheating and self-discipline. Take home message? Easy to do really. Engage in eating. Be mindful. Saviour every forkful. Taste the food. Enjoy the food. Don't eat with the TV on as people consume 22% more. There are no tastebuds in your tummy so taste the food in your mouth. Guaranteed you will be more satisfied and will eat less!! Give it a try. Do it for your family. What have you got to lose?

Love

just martha