More parents missing time to connect with kids by skipping family meals
Nov 13, 2018, 4:10 AM | Updated: 8:15 am
(Public Domain Photo)
(Public Domain Photo)
PHOENIX — The dinner table is one of the best places for parents to connect with their kids. But numerous studies find that’s not happening as often as before and more families are eating out.
About half of families in the United States rarely have dinner together, according to Harvard University’s Family Dinner Project.
In addition, a study published in 2013 by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health shows Americans are eating less home-cooked meals and are shifting toward eating out more.
Kenny Weiss, a Tempe life coach, said sit-down family meals offer a chance for parents to teach their kids valuable skills.
“Kids don’t do what you say, they do what you do,” he said “So that face-to-face time and watching your interaction has a huge effect.”
Weiss said it can also lead to a number of benefits for children, ranging from academic to social and emotional. In addition, he said it’s a chance for parents to find out what is going on in their kids’ lives and to help them solve any problems they may be facing.
“You can ask your kids, ‘What was the worst thing in your day today?’” he said. “Instead of giving them the answer and trying to fix it, you can turn to them and say, ‘What do think you can do differently?’”
For parents experiencing packed schedules and long hours at work, they may be shortening the time they spend eating with their children at home.
A study by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Economic Research Service finds couples with at least one child are spending less time eating together than they did a decade ago, and single-parent households are spending the least time.
Weiss said he understands “it’s difficult” for parents — especially for single parents and households with two working parents — to make time for family meals. But he added, “There’s a responsibility to being a parent.”
“We all can find 15 to 30 minutes a day, even in our busy lifestyles,” he said. “It’s a question of choice and are we willing to make that choice and investment in ourselves and our kids.”
