Why Family Dinners Matter:
The Science Of Eating Together
By Tanni Haas, Ph.D.
M
ost families find it difficult to get everyone
together at the dinner table on a regular
basis. We’re all so busy with after-school
activities, late meetings at work, and long commutes;
it really is too bad. Researchers have learned that
eating dinner as a family is extremely important to kids’
physical, mental, and emotional health. As Dr. Anne
Fishel, professor at Harvard Medical School and an
expert on the benefits of family dinners, says: “Sitting
down for a nightly meal is great for the brain, the body
and the spirit.”
Healthier Eating
soft drinks. They eat a wider variety of foods, and they
continue to do so once they become adults. They’re also
less likely to become obese. Researchers believe that’s
because homemade meals are healthier than those in
restaurants: we eat smaller portions, at a slower pace, and
we spend more time talking with one another.
Increased Vocabulary
Dining with the family impacts kids’ minds
as well as their bodies. Researchers have
discovered that dinner-time conversations
increase young kids’ vocabulary much
more than being read to out loud. So if you have a choice
Kids whose families have regular dinners between coming home early for a family dinner or reading
together are much healthier than those your kids a bedtime story, choose the dinner over the
who don’t. They eat more fruits and bedtime story. Kids who have a large vocabulary learn to
vegetables and less fried foods and read earlier and more easily than those with a more limited
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