These Saturday Together at the Table blog posts are intended to start or sustain a family dialogue about food, cooking, and eating, and we'll be sharing recipes, food-related research, food events, and other fun food-related tidbits.
This week, I came across newly-published research about the benefits of eating together as a family. This research confirms that preparing and eating meals together nourishes us as people and families on so many levels. Mealtimes may be the only times carved out in our busy days where we actually get to focus on each other.
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found the following correlations between infrequent family dinners and alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse among teenagers:
"Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are almost four times likelier to use tobacco; more than twice as likely to use alcohol; two-and-a-half times likelier to use marijuana; and almost four times likelier to say they expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners VII, a new report from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia).
The CASA Columbia family dinners report revealed that teens who have infrequent family dinners are likelier to say they have ready access to alcohol, prescription drugs (without a prescription in order to get high) or marijuana. Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are more likely to be able to get alcohol, prescription drugs or marijuana in an hour or less. In contrast, teens who have frequent family dinners are more likely to report having no access to such drugs.”
And the benefits of eating together go way beyond reduced substance abuse. Eating together can help improve vocabulary, it is a predictor of academic success, and it is a predictor of overall health and well-being.
The Mommy Dietitian has a wonderful list outlining the many many reasons we should take time to eat together along with some great mealtime tips and recipes.
I love this article and photo essay from the New York Times about family dinners and the art in each family's traditions and rituals. It's not about being fancy-- who has the time for fancy?-- it's just about being together.
How do you carve out time for meals together?
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