According to a Social Policy Report Brief from the Society for Research in Child Development the average family meal lasts barely 20 minutes, but few other settings in family life have such potential to influence children’s behavior and development. Sharing a meal regularly, research suggests, can boost children’s health and wellbeing, reducing the likelihood that they’ll become obese or use drugs, and increase the chances that they’ll do well in school.

According to the Brief the research on family mealtimes tells us that . . .

• Regular mealtimes have a protective effect on children. Teens who eat five or more meals a week with their families are less likely to smoke cigarettes or marijuana and to abuse alcohol.
• Children who take part in regular family mealtimes have more vocabulary growth and academic achievement than those who don’t.
• Frequently shared mealtimes protect against obesity in children and eating disorders in preteens.
• In families with young children, eating together means fewer behavior problems.
• While it’s unclear exactly how frequent family mealtimes improve children’s health outcomes, families that regularly dine with their teens tend to eat more fruits and vegetables. Meals prepared at home also tend to be lower in calories and fat than restaurant meals.
• Various studies have characterized three to five meals a week as regular, but no magic number ensures healthy outcomes.
• Watching TV while eating disrupts mealtime patterns that may support children’s health and has been linked to obesity in children.

As you make plans for a special Thanksgiving meal, don’t forget to make family meals a priority everyday. You don’t need to have a “Leave it to Beaver” schedule to have an impact. Be flexible and start from where you are!

For more insights check out The Surprising Power of Family Meals: How Eating Together Makes Us Smarter, Stronger, Healthier, and Happier by Miriam Weinstein.