ScienceDaily (July 25, 2008) — Parents who have regular meals with their adolescent children might help lessen the chances they will start drinking or smoking later in their teen years, according to new research.
Past studies have shown that family meals provide many benefits, including offering a venue for parents to communicate with their adolescents about their daily activities, as well as monitor their moods and whereabouts.
In the new study, researchers noted benefits in families that ate five or more meals together each week, and found that about 60 percent of the participants did so.
“Sixty percent having regular family meals is about what we would expect for middle school students,” said lead author Marla Eisenberg of the Division of Adolescent Health and Medicine at the University of Minnesota. “The percentage is lower among high school students, who are more likely to have afterschool activities or more freedom to spend time away from home.”
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