Families around the dinner table

@ HSBC Tree Top Bridge, Singapore

By: Dr James Dobson

Today, I want to share the findings of an interesting study that was conducted by Dr Blake Bowden of the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Center.

He and his colleagues studied 527 teenagers to learn what family and lifestyle characteristics were related to mental health and adjustment. What they found is that adolescents whose parents ate dinner with them five times per week or more were the least likely to be on drugs, to be depressed or to be in trouble with the law. They were more likely to be doing well in school and to be surrounded by a supportive circle of friends. And the benefit was seen even for families that didn't eat together at home. Those who met at fast-food restaurants had the same result. By contrast, the more poorly adjusted teens had parents who ate with them only three evenings per week or less. Now, what do these findings mean? Is there something magic about sitting down together over a meal? No. And those parents who believe that are in for a disappointment. What Bowden's study shows is that family relationships are critically important to the well-being of adolescents. When parents have time for their kids, when they get together almost every day for conversation and interaction - in this case, while eating - then their teens do much better at school and in life.

Study after study has emphasised the same message : Families are critically important to the well-being of children.