The Benefits of Family Meals

For many people, busy and changing lifestyles have made the family meal less of a priority. However, The Benefits of Family Meals make taking the time to sit and eat together invaluable.

Family About to Sit Down to Family Meal.

It is not surprising that family meals are coming under attack.

Heavy workloads and long hours, often necessary to make ends meet, make planning and creating family meals really difficult.
Then there are the after school activities, families arriving home from them hungry and exhausted so food needs to be there fast.
Furthermore, the quantity of technology that has hurtled into our lives, over the last two decades can very easily find its way to the table. This can result in everyone becoming a single unit as emails are checked, games are played, or tv is watched. The food and the family conversation becoming less important than the technology.

Family mealtimes should be about more than just food, they can be a time for positivity, conversation, sharing, and celebrating aspects of one's life. But- if families come to the table to criticise, control, become distracted by technology or sit in science then positive benefits will be limited.

Families who regularly eat together tend to have better eating habits. The family meal provides parents and other adults, an opportunity to model healthy eating through trying new foods, eating appropriate portion sizes and stopping when full.

Jump to:

Nutrition
Education
Social Skills
Family Bonding
Well Being
Tips to Increase Family Meals
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References

Nutrition

Families who regularly eat together tend to have better eating habits. The family meal provides parents and other adults, an opportunity to model positive eating behaviours through trying new foods, eating appropriate portion sizes and stopping when full.

Children who dine with their families tend to exhibit greater food openness and cultivate a more positive relationship with food, while parents can use meal times to detect potential signs of eating disorders and plan interventions accordingly.

A study exploring the correlation between shared family meals and the nutritional well-being of children and adolescents revealed that those who partake in family meals three or more times per week are more likely to maintain a healthy weight and adopt nutritious dietary habits compared to those with fewer shared meals. Additionally, they exhibit lower tendencies towards disordered eating behaviours. (1)

Education

Family meals can make a positive impact on young children’s language skills. Mealtime conversations allow children an opportunity to acquire new vocabulary and learn through discussions, narratives and explanations. Children who have a large vocabulary generally read earlier and more easily.

Research indicates a strong link between regular family dinners and academic success among teenagers. One study revealed that teenagers who have family dinners seven times a week are nearly 40% more likely to report receiving mostly A’s and B’s in school compared to those who have family dinners two or fewer times per week (2).

Family mealtimes are an opportunity to teach children manners, turn-taking, social skills, how to clean up, share responsibility and cook healthy meals. Furthermore, it helps younger children develop patience and fine motor skills through passing dishes, plating their meals and the use of utensils.

Frequent family meals allow plenty of teaching and modelling of these skills. However, this may not happen overnight and may require perseverance by all.

Family Gathered Around the Table Serving a Meal

Family Bonding

Sharing a meal offers a precious opportunity for families to reconnect, engage in meaningful conversation, and enjoy each other's company in a relaxed atmosphere filled with laughter. It also serves as a platform for passing down cherished family traditions, including special celebratory foods or cultural dishes, which hold significance across generations and enrich family identity.

Research highlights the positive impact of shared meals on family dynamics. The "Share the Table" White Paper Study (3) revealed that 72% of children feel a closer bond with their parents when they dine together, while a study by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found that teenagers who frequently have family dinners are more likely to report having high-quality relationships with their parents (4)

Well Being

Quality family dinners can significantly enhance the well-being of both children and adults. By providing routine and structure, family meals offer young children a sense of security and predictability, contributing to their overall stability.

Moreover, open communication during family meals creates opportunities for older children to discuss social and emotional issues, enabling parents to monitor their children's moods, behaviors, and activities more effectively.

Research indicates that teenagers who dine with their families at least five times per week are nearly one and a half times less likely to report high levels of stress (4). Additionally, findings from the "Share the Table" White Paper suggest that parents who prioritize family dinners experience greater feelings of happiness, enjoyment, and overall life satisfaction.

Family with Young Children Sitting at Table for Family Meal

Tips to Increase Family Meals

A large majority of us understand the benefits of family meals and wish to have more of them. However, we can find it quite challenging due to family circumstances and afterschool commitments. Even with the best intentions, it is hard to make family meals happen on a busy weeknight.

Here are a few tips to help make family dinners happen more often.

Meal Plan: Plan ahead, decide your meals, shop and even prepare meals so that busy evenings run smoother and mealtime stress is limited. Remember the focus is on family time and not elaborate meals. Keep it simple!
Be Flexible: Family meals won't always be possible, plan to eat the meals you can with your family. Remember any meal will do, dinner isn’t the only opportunity, you can try breakfast, or a weekend lunch together. Start with one or two meals and slowly try to increase.
Make sure your children are hungry. If they’ve been given a snack too late in the day and they have no appetite they are less likely to want to sit together at the meal and eat, only making it a stressful time rather a fun family bonding experience.
Technology Free: Make mealtimes a technology-free zone, this is for all members of the family, not just the kids. Make it a time to talk to one another without the distractions of whoever decides to text or call you. A clear ban will stop arguments about it at the table, making the meal a more enjoyable and meaningful experience.
Involve Your Children in planning, meal prep & setting the table: Children who are involved with planning and preparing their meals are more likely to eat and enjoy them. Older children can take responsibility for cooking one meal a week, they will feel pride and joy sitting the family down to their home-cooked meal.
Family Clean Up: Assign tasks to every family member, even really small children, make it a family job.
Make it positive: Try not to pressure, bribe or nag at the table. Focus on providing a positive and relaxed environment and less on what your children are eating.
Conversation Starters: Although you don’t want to restrict topics of conversation, if mealtimes become a place of constant bickering or negativity it won't be a happy place. If no one seems to have much to say, you can get positive conversations started with a few open-ended questions. We love to start meals taking turns to discuss 1) Our favourite part of the day 2) Something nice you did for someone that day and 3) Something nice that someone did for you.