A Family That Eats Together Does So Much Better– 7 Benefits of Family Meals

I know, I know, we hear so often that it is good to eat together as a family, but I’ve searched the web and compiled a list of the benefits, especially for your kids – just to drive the point home and show you that it really is important for you and your kids to have sit-down meals together at home without TV, tablets, or phones!

In addition to highly increasing your family bond, family meals:

1. Help with stress: talking about their day with people who love and care for them helps children be more equipped to handle the stresses of life and the hassles of day-to-day existence.
2. Increase emotional health: when you spend time with your kids and take an interest in them, it can reduce the chance that they become depressed and stressed and, therefore, can reduce the chance they engage in risky behaviors.
3. Encourage learning new things - from new foods to how to cook to how to clean: you can divide up the “chores” of the family meal from cooking to serving to cleaning. And it’s a great time to introduce kids to new kinds of food by having them choose new, “weird” things to try.
4. Create good conversationalists with great manners: if you sit and talk, your kids will get more comfortable with face-to-face communication with others, as well as increase their vocabulary and have a chance to learn and practice their manners.
5. Lead to better grades: in addition to increased vocabulary and good conversation skills, the time with family affects grades. In fact, kids who dine regularly with family are twice as likely to gets As!
6. Encourage more sensible eating habits: family meals typically involve more fruits and vegetables, and less fried foods and soda.
7. Promote healthier bodies: homemade meals have as much as 60% less calories than those served in restaurants. Plus you control the ingredients going into your foods and the portion sizes, and we usually eat slower at home while talking to each other in a quiet, comfortable environment without distractions.

With how busy we are, it is sometimes so easy to neglect our sit-down time together, but how much better can we make life for our kids through a simple meal that leads to increased emotional health, less stress, better eating habits, higher grades, and so much more. And when you eat together, you get to talk about all these wonderful things!

Here are articles outlining more benefits of and tips for family dining:

Why the Family Meal Is Important by Stanford Medicine Children’s Health

Healthy Meals Together with Family by John Hopkins Medicine

9 Scientifically Proven Reasons to Eat Dinner as a Family by Goodnet

Benefits of Family Meals: Eat Together, Thrive Together by healthychildren.org

Why Family Dinners Matter: The Science of Eating Together by goodLIFEfamily