Eating dinner together as a family makes a diffence, research shows.
Teens who eat dinner five to seven times per week with their families are almost four times less likely to use tobacco, half as likely to use alcohol and 2.5 times less likely to use marijuana than teens who eat fewer than three times per week with their families.
Additionally, teens who eat dinner frequently with their families are less likely to have ready access to alcohol, prescription drugs for recreational use and/or marijuana. Plus, they are less likely to have friends who abuse substances than are teens who eat with their families infrequently.
In the most recent study by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, 58 percent of teens reported having dinner with their families at least five times a week, a proportion that has remained consistent over the past decade.
Are family meal times a ?silver bullet? for reducing teen risky behaviors? Joseph A. Califano Jr., the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse?s founder and chairman at Columbia and former US Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare, says that the ?magic that happens at family dinners isn?t the food on the table, but the conversations and family engagement around the table.?
Mealtimes provide an opportunity for family members to connect and share their day-to-day experiences.
In fact, 75 percent of teens who indicated they ate five or more dinners per week with their families said that the best part of the meal was the family interaction. Having positive family relationships is protective against teen use of alcohol and drugs.
It is important to keep teens from engaging in drug use early because 90 percent of Americans who have substance addictions started smoking, drinking or using other drugs before age 18. Children who have parents who are engaged in their lives are less likely to be involved in a host of risky behaviors. Family dinners can help parents be engaged with their children in the following ways:
Dinner provides a time to talk and listen to each other to learn what is happening in each other?s lives.
Frequency of family dinners is positively associated with longer time at the table ? teens who eat frequently with their families report that they spend nearly twice as much time at the table per meal as do those who eat together infrequently.
Teens who eat dinner frequently with their families spend more time with their parents overall than do teens who eat infrequently with family.
It is often difficult for families to have dinner together, especially as children get older and have extracurricular activities, sports or jobs after school or in the evening.
If you find that it is hard to schedule meals together, have your children do some brainstorming with you to figure out ways that you can spend more time together. Here are some ideas to get you started.
Look at your calendar and schedule family meals several times each week ? even if they are at breakfast, brunch or a late-night picnic.
Take advantage of meal preparation and cleanup times to extend the time spent together.
Avoid controversial or unpleasant topics or lecturing when at the dinner table.
Include the children in dinner discussions. They will feel valued and respected.
Ask specific questions that will extend the conversation (for example, ?What was the best part of your day today?? or ?Tell us about your plans for the football game this Friday,? instead of ?How was your day??).
Include laughter in the dinner conversation.
Have dinner in an unusual setting.
Turn off distractions, including the TV and phones. Don?t bring electronic equipment to the table. This applies to parents and children.