Family meals can help lessen pandemic-related stress

MANILA – Amid the global health crisis caused by the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), the Philippines went ahead with the celebration of the “Kainang Pamilya Mahalaga Day” on Monday to emphasize the importance of families taking meals together.

Local government units and state agencies, except those involved in emergency services, suspended work by 3:30 p.m. to enable employees to go home earlier than usual, as stated in Memorandum Circular No. 90 signed by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.

The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), as chair of the National Committee on the Filipino Family (NCFF), said in a statement that the activity is held every last Monday of September and as part of the National Family Week.

Sharing meals encourages parents to stay connected with their children and opens an opportunity to communicate with one another, according to the DSWD.

The 29th National Family Week this week carries the theme “Pamilya at Teknolohiya: Magkabalikat na Matagumpayan ang Hamon ng Pandemya (Family and Technology: Joint Efforts in Successfully Hurdling the Pandemic)”.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) advised parents to talk about the pandemic with their children.

“Be willing to talk. They will already have heard something. Silence and secrets do not protect our children. Honesty and openness do. Think about how much they will understand. You know them best,” Unicef posted on its website last year.

“Be open and listen. Allow your child to talk freely. Ask them open questions and find out how much they already know.”

Parents should also answer children’s questions truthfully.

“Think about how old your child is and how much they can understand,” the agency said.

A United Nations study late last year stated children and families are hardest hit by the pandemic.

“Before Covid-19, children were twice as likely as adults to be living in extreme poverty. Now, the number of children living below their respective national poverty line could soar by as many as 117 million, leaving 700 million children’s futures even less certain,” the UN study stated.