KidsWorld September Newsletter

In recent years a number of studies from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) have confirmed that regular family mealtimes offer great benefits to families in general, and to kids specifically.

In the hectic pace of today's family life, I'm happy to know that more families are investing in intentional efforts to make dinnertime family time. Here are some reasons why doing this is a great idea:

1) Kids who live in families that eat dinner regularly together are less likely to be involved in at-risk behaviors. CASA found that teens that have frequent family dinnertimes (five to seven per week) are less likely to drink alcohol, or use tobacco or marijuana.

2) Regular dinnertimes result in stronger, happier family relationships. Regular dinners together provide the opportunity for both quantity and quality time together. Teens who regularly eat dinner with their family are likelier to say they have excellent relationships with their parents than those who do not.

3) Kids perform better in school when they have regular family dinnertimes. CASA found that teens that eat three or more dinners a week with their family earn better grades in school than those who do not.

4) Regular dinnertimes produce a stronger family identity. Eating together serves to build family identity. Further, the "routine" of regular mealtimes produces a positive family environment with stability and security.

5) Kids are more likely to eat healthier when dining regularly with their families. When kids eat with their families, they eat better. They are more likely to eat a nutritionally balanced meal -- lower in sugar and fat content -- then if they prepare or purchase meals on their own.

If regular family mealtimes are not part of your own family routine, I want to encourage you to give them a try. You might think that life is too busy to orchestrate regular dinnertimes, but the truth is that meals don't have to be complex or take a lot of time. CASA found that the average family meal lasts just 35 minutes. That's not a lot of time to invest in order to give some great benefits to your family!