By India McCarty
It’s common knowledge that eating together is good for families, but a new study has found that there’s another benefit — statistically, family dinners can reduce the chances of teen substance abuse.
“These findings build on what we already knew about the value of family meals as a practical and widely accessible way to reduce the risk of adolescent substance use,” Margie Skeer, the study’s lead author, professor and chair of the Department of Public Health and Community Medicine at Tufts University’s School of Medicine, said.
The survey found that teens that reported high quality family dinners — communication, enjoyment, no digital distractions — were “associated with a 22% to 34% lower prevalence of substance use among adolescents who had either no or low to moderate levels of adverse childhood experiences.”
Skeer continued, “Routinely connecting over meals — which can be as simple as a caregiver and child standing at a counter having a snack together — can help establish open and routine parent-child communication and parental monitoring to support more positive long-term outcomes for the majority of children.”
Related: Why This Mom of 4 Prioritizes Gathering at Family Dinner Table: ‘Where Goodness Happens’
“It’s not about the food, timing, or setting; it’s the parent-child relationship and interactions it helps cultivate that matter,” she concluded.
Anna Fishel, a family therapist and director and co-founder of the nonprofit Family Dinner Project, has also spoken about the importance of having dinner as a family.
“Over the past 20 years, scientific research has shown that sharing a family meal is one of the most powerful things that parents can do for the spirit, brain and health of all family members,” she said in an interview with Massachusetts General Hospital. “Studies link regular family meals to the kinds of outcomes that parents want for their children: resilience, higher grade-point averages, better nutrition, and lower rates of depression, substance use and obesity. Studies also show that sharing a family meal helps children feel more connected to their parents.”
If you can’t always find time for a family dinner, never fear; many experts recommend just finding a way to spend time with your child. Dr. Sanam Hafeez told Parents, “Car rides are surprisingly underrated. There’s something about not making direct eye contact that makes kids way more willing to talk openly.”
“A regular bedtime routine [is another good option], even just 10 minutes of chatting before lights out creates that same daily check-in without needing food involved,” she continued, adding that anything that “creates a low-key window for conversation that doesn’t feel like a sit-down talk” is a good move for parents.
Experts agree; eating meals together as a family will benefit your children in the long run.
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