Are you adamant that teens don’t like family meals? Don’t believe it? According to The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, 84 percent of teenagers prefer dinner with their families and 13 percent prefer to have dinner alone.
Nearly half of teens who responded stated that they find the dinner table the best place to chat with their parents. A majority of teens who enjoy family dinners report receiving anti-drug messages at home from their parents.
“We know from decades of research that parental involvement at home is critical to children’s school and life success,”Dr. Holly Kreider is a senior research associate at Sociometrics Corporation. “The dinner table can provide an ideal opportunity for parents to inquire about their children’s school day and create a positive, warm connection with them.”
It can be difficult to find the time to cook and eat a meal, especially when you have to balance work, school, sports, and other commitments. So how can families spend more time at the table?
Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) has cooked up a solution with “Just Add Family: Delicious Recipes for the Entire Family.”This cookbook contains family recipes from club members and offers the following tips for families to spend quality time together at the table:
Ask your teens questions about their school, homework, teachers, and future assignments. Ask your teens if they are interested in having you help them with an assignment or if you can brainstorm ideas for them.
Ask everyone to tell their stories, and share their greatest challenges or favorite parts of the day.
– Allow all family members and friends to participate in the preparation, cleanup and menu creation for the next day.
Discuss an activity that the whole family can enjoy together and then set a date.
Talk to your children about books they’ve read and movies they’ve seen. This could lead to a book club for the whole family or movie nights.
Dr. Kreider stresses that how dinnertime is spent can be just as important as how many family meals are served. Familyplus.bgca.org provides information about BGCA’s Family PLUS Initiative and a link to download Just Add Family.
