Family dinner
Source: The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse
Here's Liz Atwood with this week's Tween Tuesday:
As a working mom with two active boys, I can tell you it’s hard to find a time we can all sit down to eat together. With soccer, basketball, scouts and school work, it seems the kids are constantly on the go.
But a recent study from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse reminds us of the importance of family dinners. The study found that teens who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are almost four times likelier to use tobacco, more than twice as likely to use alcohol, two-and-a-half times likelier to use marijuana, and almost four times likelier to say they expect to try drugs in the future than kids who eat with their families more than five times a week.
Of course there isn’t anything magical about the meal itself. Grilled chicken strips and spaghetti do not prevent drug abuse. What’s important is the time we spend with our kids. So don’t fret about cooking a gourmet meal. Go for quick and easy and spend your time talking at the table.
Comments
I'm in the same boat. We are running around in circles literally seven days a week during spring and fall sports. Not only is it important to eat together as a family but it is also important to eat relatively early before practice/games so as to give the child the energy they need without causing nausea if the meal comes too close to the activity. I feel sorry for children who have to play sports on an empty stomach. We try to time the meal an hour to an hour and a half before game time. Sometimes that means just a sandwich, bag of chips and a cup of fruit cocktail. It's not fancy, but it does the trick.
Posted by: Lisa | September 27, 2011 6:41 AM