Family Meals —
Reaping the Benefits
Dining as a family can give a child more than good food

If you don’t have a family meal each day, it’s time to get out the plates. Having family mealtime means more than just eating. In the absence of a table in the home, families can still gather in the same location each time for a meal together. Research done by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University shows that children who eat more often with their parents were four times less likely to smoke, three times less likely to use marijuana and half as likely to drink, says Susan C. Casey, RD, pediatric clinical dietitian at Children’s.

For younger children, family meals provide parents the chance to model good eating habits. It helps if parents eat and enjoy the same foods they want their children to eat.

Family dinners also are linked to mental health. Research in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health shows that teens and young adults who sought help for depression, anxiety and other emotional problems were about half as likely as their peers to have regular family meals. Why? Meals may offer children a chance to talk with parents about things that bother them, Casey says.

Experts say that children who have some structure with meals are better nourished than children who only graze or snack all day. They also are better at trying new foods.

A Harvard Medical School survey of more than 16,000 children ages 9 to 14 years found that children who joined family meals ate more fruits and vegetables, giving them more minerals and vitamins. They also ate fewer fats and snacks, and drank less soda.

Healthy Eating
What is the parent’s job at meal time?