What can you do to get your kids to eat more nutritious foods, get better grades in school, and have a larger vocabulary? The answer may be easier than you think. Start by sharing meals with your family on a regular basis. While family dinners may seem like a burdensome chore at the end of a tiring day, the benefits of this time together cannot be measured by calories alone. Enjoying shared meals offers a unique opportunity to teach children valuable lessons and to influence their health positively.

Pulling together a nutritious meal does not have to be time-consuming or hard. Parents can look to dairy foods, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt to pack a nutritional punch and to add flavor to a meal. These are easy foods to add to your family meal because they complement so many other foods, such as vegetables and fruit.

In today’s world, busy work schedules, extracurricular activities, and other interests may put family meals on the back burner. Fast food and drive-through meals have become standard dinners for many families. However, making family meals a priority is important in this fast-paced society. Many families are starved for time together, and a family dinner or breakfast is an opportunity to reconnect, leave behind individual pursuits, and really be present. Family meals provide a time to relax, recharge, laugh, tell stories, and catch up on events. Plus, family mealtimes are a great opportunity to gain crucial knowledge and nutrition skills.

Better nutrition is a key advantage to enjoying meals as a family. Research shows family meals influence and improve food choices. Dairy foods, for example, contain calcium, protein, and an array of essential nutrients and are easily incorporated into breakfast, lunch, and dinner meals, ensuring a nutrition-packed meal to serve to your family. Grate and sprinkle a new flavor of cheese over vegetables or stir yogurt into a fruit dip. These simple options expose children to new foods and help ensure they are consuming three servings of dairy every day.

Making family meals a priority in your household does not mean you have to be a professional chef. Focus more on being together rather than making an elaborate meal. Start with small steps, such as increasing the number of family meals by one meal each week. Plan the weekly menu and make a grocery list so everyone is involved in the plan. Encourage children to make suggestions, help prepare food, or set the table. Pouring milk into a measuring cup, discussing why cheese melts on a casserole, tasting different yogurt textures, or explaining that milk is a local food can help build skills and knowledge. Plus, they’re great ways to get kids excited about dairy. Last but not least, turn off all devices including TV, tablets, and phones, and enjoy time as a family. It’s worth a try, as sharing more meals together could mean large rewards for the family.

Family meals foster children’s healthy growth and development, both physically and emotionally. Studies show that with regular family meals, kids are less likely to engage in unhealthy and risky behaviors, such as smoking. Parents and health professionals also cite improved communication as a benefit of shared meals. Shared family meals may also lead to improved vocabulary and social skills and higher self-esteem and grade-point averages.