The Impact of Family Dinners

Family Dinners. They were a staple when I was growing up. You did not NOT participate. For literally hours, we would sit around the table and talk, laugh and catch up. Sometimes, the conversation would grow intense as my brothers, sisters and parents loudly proclaimed their opinions on world news, local news, sports, music, movies, theology, jokes, etc. It was all in good fun, but what developed was strong good memories of time spent around the dinner table together as a family.

This isn't an old idea, but apparently it is becoming a good reminder: family dinners prevent substance abuse.

Ponder this quote for a minute:

"More than a decade of research by the Natioanl Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University has consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs." (emphasis is mine)

Of course, there are those exceptions, but still, the message that CASA is presenting is powerful. As parents invest in their child(ren)'s life, spend time with them, having meaningful conversations, the impact is HUGE. Yes, peer pressure is huge; but how much more influential is a parent's involvement?

Do you have a favorite family dinner memory? I do - it's laughing until my sides hurt and remembering that my parents and siblings were laughing just as hard with me.