chipping out of the ice block

Whew! Well, they’re finally back to school! We managed the list I posted last week fairly well, accomplishing Nos. 2, 3 (twice), 4, 5, 9 (twice) and 10 (twice). Better than my usual performance on a to-do list! And, I must confess, Harry Potter was substituted into all of the movie spots … thank you ABC Family channel! We even tried a new recipe, and I’ve added massrecipes.com to the finders section of the sidebar, thanks to a friend.

Now my thoughts have returned to the New Year and what I hope to get done. I made the mistake last night of telling a karate instructor how I was hoping to try his class after the first of the year. He thought this was a bad idea, to wait, so I’ll be trying it tomorrow night. Wish me luck! It’s a cardio class and I am not very co-ordinated! But these new habits I’m trying to create made me wonder … why are bad habits so hard to break and good habits so hard to make?

Quitting smoking was hard … sleeping in instead of working out is easy. Eating more fruit is hard … eating more pie is easy. Which brings me to one of the many benefits experts have found for families who eat together regularly: Adolescent and teenaged girls who frequently share mealtime with their families are less likely to fall into unhealthy habits and possible eating disorders.

"Family meals … provide a place for modeling healthy behaviors and make it easy to make healthy food choices,” said Dr. Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, author of I’m, Like, SO Fat! Helping your teen make healthy choices about eating and exercise in a weight-obsessed world. She adds that family mealtime provides “an opportunity to talk about things other than weight, and a place for talking, listening, and sharing.”

For breakfast the day after Thanksgiving, my 7-year-old son and I shared some pumpkin pie. My kids routinely see me snack on less-than-healthy choices … but my 5-year-old son has asked me for years: “Are you having the usual for lunch, Mommy?” After inspecting the countertop and finding the bagged lettuce, cherry tomatoes, etc. He’ll say, “Yup. Salad. The usual,” and tell me what he wants for lunch. When the three of them found out I’ve got a Mom’s night Friday they did a “Daddy Dinner! No Veggies!” dance of joy.

But the 8-year-old takes salad in her lunchbox. The 7-year-old will grab a banana when he comes in from the bus. And Mr. 5 can be found with a box of raisins if I have them in the house.

So I guess what I’m getting at is this … as I think about what I hope to improve upon next year I might as well start changing now. And as I think about what I hope to improve, I need to start by acknowledging what I just might be doing right ... a hard thing for a lot of moms I know.

So if you already eat together regularly, I’d love to hear how you manage. If you can get your kids to eat a balanced diet, I’d love to know your secret weapons. And if you can get your husband to try new recipes, or step into the kitchen, or do some of the shopping, I’d like to hear how you do that, too. I’ll be happy to share some of my husband’s great grilling tips once the four inches of ice has melted off the top of his Weber kettle!