August is national Kids Eat Right Month which focuses on the benefits of healthful eating and active lifestyles for kids and families. The importance of family mealtime has been studied since the 1970s, particularly on how it influences child language development and parent-child interaction (Catherine E. Snow, 2006). The discourse that occurs over dinnertime has been shown to provide rich information to children about the meaning of words and subsequently literary success (Catherine E. Snow, 2006). The benefits of family meals have also been studied in relation to behavior and dietary patterns.
A 2012 Columbia University study found that teens who have family dinners frequently (defined as 5-7 dinners/week) are more likely to have high-quality relationships with their parents, report less stress, and are less likely to use drugs and alcohol (“The Importance of Family Dinners VIII,” 2012). Furthermore, a 2018 study looking at the frequency of family meals and fruit and vegetable intake in preschool aged children found a positive association, which is especially important as children start to develop taste preferences (Caldwell, Terhorst, Skidmore, & Bendixen, 2018).
Dr. Anne Fishel cofounded The Family Dinner Project, a nonprofit initiative established in 2010 to explore the significance family meals has on overall health and well-being. Dr. Fishel has been a lead researcher in this field for the last 20 years, with much of her research linking family meals with higher grade point averages, resilience and self-esteem in children (“About Us,” 2020). While most would agree family mealtime is important, less than half of families actually have dinner together (Neumark-Sztainer, Larson, Fulkerson, Eisenberg, & Story, 2010). Family meals are pivotal for developmental success and overall happiness in children; parents should use this time to develop connections with their children and foster open communication in the household. Sitting down to have a meal with your family, even just three times a week, can greatly reduce your child’s chances of developing overweight, obesity and unhealthy eating patterns (Hammons & Fiese, 2011).
Here are some ways you can make time for family meals after a busy day of work (“Making Time to Eat Together Promotes Healthful Eating Habits,” 2019):
- Keep it simple. Develop a small collection of easy go-to recipes to help you get in and out of the kitchen quickly.
- Make family meals a habit. Tell every family member to be home for dinner at a set time. This will create something special to look forward to and ensure everyone makes time for it in their schedule.
- Make it fun. Get your kids involved while making dinner; have them wash vegetables, teach them where their food comes from, and use this time as a learning opportunity.
- Share your “hills” and “valleys.” Talk and listen to each other while you eat. Have everyone at the table share something positive (“hill”) or negative (“valley”) that happened that day or week.
Lastly, thefamilydinnerproject.org website has an abundance of resources for dinnertime discussion, ranging from lighthearted to more serious topics to help families engage in conversation.
References
About Us. (2020). Retrieved from https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/about-us/
Caldwell, A. R., Terhorst, L., Skidmore, E. R., & Bendixen, R. M. (2018). Is frequency of family meals associated with fruit and vegetable intake among preschoolers? A logistic regression analysis. J Hum Nutr Diet, 31(4), 505-512. doi:10.1111/jhn.12531
Catherine E. Snow, D. E. B. (2006). Mealtime Talk That Supports Literacy Development. Wiley InterScience, 111. doi:10.1002/cad.154
Hammons, A. J., & Fiese, B. H. (2011). Is frequency of shared family meals related to the nutritional health of children and adolescents? Pediatrics, 127(6), e1565-1574. doi:10.1542/peds.2010-1440
The Importance of Family Dinners VIII. (2012).
Making Time to Eat Together Promotes Healthful Eating Habits. (2019). [Press release]. Retrieved from https://www.eatrightpro.org/media/press-releases/kids-eat-right-month/family-dining
Neumark-Sztainer, D., Larson, N. I., Fulkerson, J. A., Eisenberg, M. E., & Story, M. (2010). Family meals and adolescents: what have we learned from Project EAT (Eating Among Teens)? Public Health Nutr, 13(7), 1113-1121. doi:10.1017/S1368980010000169
