Health Benefits of the Family Dinner

As another school year winds down and summer arrives, our family of 5 is breathing a sigh of relief as our schedule relaxes and we welcome the slower days of summer vacation. It is an ideal time to get in some good family bonding and in particular more family dinners.

Over the past few years, as families, and children in particular, are getting exponentially busier, it seems that communal mealtime has fallen out of the routine. However, studies continue to show that this daily ritual can be a very important factor contributing to the health and well-being of our children.

In March of this year, new research was published in the Journal of Adolescent health about the many benefits of frequently sitting together for a meal as a family in the evening.  As summarized in an article in USAtoday.com on March 24, 2013, “With each additional dinner, researchers found fewer emotional and behavioral problems, greater emotional well-being, more trusting and helpful behaviors toward others and higher life satisfaction, regardless of gender, age or family economics.”

Additional studies have shown that regular family dinner conversation help increase the vocabulary of our young children and build confidence and higher self-esteem in our adolescents.

Since the time that our kids were young my husband and I actively worked to carve out time for these precious, beneficial family meals. Over the years, our kids have come to count on and look forward to this time each evening. In addition to just sitting down together, this rare time to talk during our hectic days can be almost like “family therapy” as we often work through problems that came up during the day or daunting current events they heard about on the news.  Looking back to the time when the kids were very young, we see how conversations evolved beyond just superficial talk to a time to instill values, stimulate lively conversation and take advantage of teachable moments.

When the kids were little and had trouble sitting still at the table, we would play the ever popular “manners game” where we ask the kids how one should behave in a certain situation on a play date or at the dinner table. As they got older, instead of just asking about their day, we would ask our kids each night, “How were you a good Samaritan today?” referring to a well-known parable in the Bible about a Samaritan man who had stopped to help someone injured by the side of the road.  We might also ask, “What was the best moment of the day?” encouraging the kids to think back on good times during their day. These questions gave each child the floor for a few minutes and an opportunity to contribute and receive our undivided attention. As they became teens we would start conversations by saying, “What was big in the news today?” or “What happened in Europe this morning?” or “What happened to the Mayor of Detroit today?” (this question generated a lot of teachable  moments over the years!)

Times change, the way we communicate evolves, new traditions are adopted, but family dinnertime is one that should remain a constant. Take advantage of the slower days of summer and grab a seat at the dinner table tonight!