Yes, family dinners matter!

Any family-based activity with the potential to help children deal with adolescence & peer pressure, improve well-being & nutrition, and strengthen family bonds should be promoted.

According to a survey by My Food Bag, and reported in the NZ Herald at the weekend:
 
"Only 36% of families eat together every night, according to research from meal delivery company My Food Bag...
 
The Bargain Box Annual Dinner Time Check-in found 81% of people felt dinnertime was an important time for family and connection, but 67% of people admitted they had a screen playing while they ate at least some of the time."
 
In 2018, we produced a report which summarised the research around the benefits of family dinner times.
 
Some of the areas examined related to the positive effects of regular family dinners on well-being, risk-taking, nutrition, obesity, preventing eating disorders, protection from the harms of cyberbullying, and the effects of technology and deprivation.

Watch the 2018 episode of Family Matters summarising the research... 

The evidence appears strong: regular family dinners have a positive and protective effect which benefits families, and especially young people. The ‘magic’ appears to be not around the food, but around the family engagement, the conversations, the strengthening of family bonds, and importantly, the role in helping children deal with the pressures of adolescence and peer pressure. Family meals provide important opportunities for parents to communicate clear expectations about behaviour and family values. More frequent dinners also facilitate opportunities for adolescents to express problems and concerns as they arise.
 
When any family-based activity has the potential to help children deal with the pressures of adolescence and peer pressure, improve their well-being and nutrition, and strengthen family bonds, we should give it priority. And when we add the potential of this activity to help decrease the likelihood of suicidal thoughts, binge drinking, smoking and marijuana use, sexual activity, obesity, and eating disorders, it seems a ‘slam-dunk’ that families should schedule as many dinners together during the week as possible – even when competing with busy work and school schedules.

DOWNLOAD the report