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June 04, 2006
This Suprises Me Not At All
From an article on family dinner times at time.com:
Studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use.
Family dinners were an almost daily thing at my house. No television, just family and conversation. Sometimes we had deep discussions, sometimes we made family decisions (we joked about bringing things before "the committee"), sometimes we played ridiculous word games, everyone riffing pun-wise on a theme. Sometimes, as I got older and began to assert my independence, the meals ended in shouting matches with my long-suffering but very patient father. The point is, I took those dinners for granted. Even now, I just assume that's the way things should be.
We were a stronger family for those dinners, I have no doubt. And I was a good kid, not just because we ate dinner together, but because of what that commitment by my parents, to always eat together when we could, said about their commitment to my brother and me.
Thanks, Mom and Dad.
Posted by sally at June 4, 2006 03:07 PM
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