Why You Need To Make Time For Family Dinners

A modern life is a busy life. For families, these hectic schedules mean that activities sitting around the table and eating dinner together don’t happen all that often.

So is this for the best? Or are there actually reasons to sit down and have dinner together as a family?

Well as it turns out, there are a few very good reasons to keep family dinners a modern tradition. Here are just a few.

1. It’s Easy To Introduce New Foods

In a family dinner table setting, it’s easy to introduce new foods to kids and expand their taste for different foods. In fact, a 2003 study found that children who were exposed to a new vegetable (in the case of the study, sweet red pepper) instead of being forced to eat it, were more likely to rate its taste highly. Also, children seeing parents enjoying new foods might be more interested to try them.

2. Dinners Help Kids Love Veggies

Family dinner provide a great opportunity to talk to children about healthy foods and nutrition in a relaxed and easy way that doesn’t make it seem like a lesson. A 2000 survey discovered that kids aged 9-14 who ate dinner regularly with their families tended to eat more fruits and vegetables, and less fizzy drinks and fried foods. Their diets were generally in better shape, something that researchers put down to those family dinner conversations.

3. Parents Can Spot Issues

During adolescence, it’s easy for parents and kids to lose touch with each other, particularly as societal pressures to be a ‘cool’ teen take over. However, maintaining these connections with regular family dinners can actually negate this effect. Family dinners offer a chance to parents and kids to talk, debrief about their day, discuss things, and generally connect. Studies have shown that kids who eat frequently with their families have any problems identified early, and dealt with in a positive way.

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