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Family Dining
STUDY SHOWS FIVE DANGERS OF NOT EATING AS A FAMILY
It is no doubt that Americans are among the hardest working people. According to a study by the National Sleep Foundation, the average employed American works a 46 hour work week (1). Even children are busy. In the past twenty years, children's free time has declined by 12 hours a week and time spent on structured sports activity has doubled (2). With everybody so busy people often forget to slow down and enjoy the finer things in life. One tradition that should never be forgotten is sharing meals with your friends and family. Family meals have been a time-honored ritual and an important part of American culture. The sharing of food at meals has long been a symbol of family unity, love, connections, and communication. Not only are family meals a fun activity to do together, they have been shown to be an important part in the development of children and teenagers. The American Pediatrics recommends a shared dinner as often as possible as a way to strengthen families (3). Research has shown that there are five dangers to families who fail to eat meals together at least five times a week.
Danger #1: Poor Nutrition. Children who do not have daily family meals tend to eat less nutritious food than those who do (4). The odds of being overweight were 15% higher among children who ate family dinner rarely compared with those who ate together frequently. Eating together is a great opportunity to teach your family about how to live a healthy life (5).
Danger #2: Lack of Manners and Social Skills. Anyone else noticed that good table manners are missing from some of our children today? This is probably a result of the more casual atmosphere of today's busy lifestyle, but good manners are essential to success. Family mealtime is the perfect opportunity to display appropriate table manners, meal etiquette, and social skills (6).
Danger #3: Spending Less Time Checking-In. Among the many difficulties of moving into the teenage years is that kids are more mobile and tend to spend less time at home. Having the family together for at least one mealtime each day gives families a chance to connect they might not otherwise have (6). Whether you’re cooking a gourmet meal, ordering food from your favorite take-out or eating at your favorite restaurant, rest assured that what your kids really want during dinnertime is YOU! (7). A national survey found that 79% of teens cited eating dinner with their family as one of their top rated family activities (8). Family meals foster warmth, security and love, as well as feelings of belonging (8).
Danger #4: Destructive Behaviors. According to a survey of 12 to 17 year olds by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) teens who have dinner with their families 2 nights a week or less are at twice the risk of substance abuse as teens who have family dinners 5 or more times a week. The survey finds that the more often children have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs (9). Compared to teens who have family dinners 2 times a week or less, teens who have dinner with their families 5 or more nights in a week are: 32% likelier never to have tried cigarettes, 45% likelier never to have tried alcohol, 24% likelier never to have smoked marijuana, 3 times less likely to say all of their friends use marijuana, and are twice as likely to receive A's in school (10).
Danger #5: Poor Grades. Children who eat dinner often show to have higher literacy rates than children who don’t eat dinner with their family. Children do better in school when they eat more meals with their parents and family (6). In fact, researchers at Harvard University concluded that family dinners were more important to a child's language development than reading or playing with them (11).
At Johnson Barbeque we understand the importance of spending time with your family. Whether you’re eating at home or eating here, meals are a great way to get together and stay in touch with each other. You and your friends and family are always welcome to share a meal at our table!
1. American Community Survey (ACS) data released by the U.S. Census Bureau, March 2005
2. 2004 National Family Mealtime Survey, American Dietetic Association and Columbia University, 2006
3. American academy of Pediatrics, Leading by example: Teach children to be positive about food, AAP New,.2007
4. Positive Maternal Attitude to the Family Eating Together Decreases the Risk of Adolescent Overweight, North American Association for the Study of Obesity, 2005
5. Growing Up Today Study. Eating dinner with family reduces overweight risk for adolescents, Taveras, August 2005
6. The Benefits of Eating Together: The Family Who Eats Together Stays Together, Becky Hand, Licensed & Registered Dietician, Phoenix University, 2007
7. The importance of family dinners, Joseph A. Califano, Jr., chairman and president of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, 2003
8. To Eat Better, Eat Together, Sally Squires, Washington Post, March 2005
9. Research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse in America
10.CASA and the Administration on Youth and Families; National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, 2003
11. Is Family Mealtime Important? Leah Davies, Archives of Family Medicine, Harvard study, March 2000
