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Benefits of Family Dinners

The Family Dinner

Over three decades of research have shown that regular family meals offer a wide variety of physical, social-emotional, and academic benefits. While some of these benefits can be gained through other activities, eating together is the only single activity that is known to provide all of them at the same time.

Some of the specific benefits of family dinners are:

  • Better academic performance;
  • Higher self-esteem;
  • Greater sense of resilience;
  • Lower risk of substance use disorder;
  • Lower risk of teen pregnancy;
  • Lower risk of depression;
  • Lower likelihood of developing eating disorders;
  • Lower rates of obesity;
  • Better cardiovascular health in teens;
  • Bigger vocabulary in preschoolers; and
  • Healthier eating patterns in young adults.

There are also benefits for adults, including:

  • Better nutrition with more fruits and vegetables and less fast food;
  • Less dieting;
  • Increased self-esteem; and
  • Lower risk of depression.

It is suggested that combining food, fun, and conversation at mealtimes are ingredients that make a recipe for a warm, positive family dinner, the type of environment that makes these scientifically proven benefits possible.

If you are interested in reading more about the benefits of the family dinner, check it out here: https://thefamilydinnerproject.org/about-us/benefits-of-family-dinners/

Useful Links:

  1. https://www.fcconline.org/the-importance-of-family-mealtime/
  2. https://www.verywellfamily.com/cooking-together-with-large-family-4777225
  3. https://www.nytimes.com/guides/well/make-most-of-family-table