Monday

[STATS]: Eating Dinner As A Family

If you are a regular reader of this blog then you know that today is Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™. My family and I eat dinner at least 5 days out of the week barring some serious upheavals to our schedules. It is a naturally expected part of our daily routines. As an ambassador for Family Day I'd like to share the following statistics with you:

Teens having frequent family dinners are:

1.5 times likelier to report having an excellent relationship with their mother.

2x as likely to report having an excellent relationship with their father

Almost 2x as likely to report having an excellent relationship with their sibling(s).*

This is compared to teens who have infrequent family dinners:

Teens who have infrequent family dinners are almost two-and-a-half times likelier to report that their parents do not regularly make time to check in with them.*

This plays a critical role in the lives of younger siblings who view and respond to the actions of their older siblings.

Teens who believe their siblings have or are using drugs are:

More than 5.5 times likelier to use tobacco

Almost 3x likelier to use alcohol

6.5 times likelier to use marijuana

More than 3x likelier to expect to try drugs (including marijuana and prescription drugs without a prescription to get high) in the future*

Less Time Spent with Parents Is Related to Increased Risk for Substance Abuse

Teens spending 7 hours or less are 2x as likely to use alcohol, and 2x as likely to say they expect to try drugs (including marijuana and prescription drugs without a prescription to get high) in the future.*

The Length of Dinner = The Quality of Time Spent

5% of teens say their family dinners usually last less than 15 minutes

27% say 15 to 20 minutes

41% say 21 to 30 minutes

28% say dinner usually lasts more than 30 minutes.*

“Although having dinner is the easiest way to create routine opportunities for engagement and communication, dinner isn’t the only time parents can engage with their children,” said Kathleen Ferrigno, CASA Columbia’s Director of Marketing who directs the Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children™ initiative. “If your schedule can’t be rearranged to include family dinners, engage in other kinds of activities with your children so that you are a reliable, involved, and interested presence in their lives. Remember the magic that happens over family dinners isn’t the food on the table, but the communication and conversations around it. Creating opportunities to connect is what’s important.”*

Are you having dinner with your children tonight? Please let me know in the comments section below.

*Source: Importance of Family Dinners Report VII

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