Family meals are good for the grown-ups, too, not just the kids

There’s good news for all parents who are tired from cooking, cleaning, and planning a million meals during the pandemic. Sharing food, or ‘commensality,’ can benefit your mental and physical health.

Many parents know that eating meals with their children is suitable for their bodies, brains, and mental health. Over two decades of research have shown that children who eat meals with their family do better at school and have a more extensive vocabulary. There are also lower rates of anxiety, depression, and eating disorders, as well as better diets and cardiovascular health.

It may surprise parents that the same meals shared with their children are suitable for adults. Shared meals have been associated with better eating habits and moods across the lifespan, from young parents sharing meals with toddlers to parents discussing pandemic-coping techniques with their school-aged children and Medicare-eligible seniors who eat with younger generations.

All adults can be healthy, but parents, in particular, should be.

Eating with others has many benefits for adults with or without children. When adults cook and eat with each other, they can improve their team performance.

Researchers have also found that eating by yourself is associated with a higher likelihood of skipping meals, and its downstream effects include lower nutrient intakes, reduced energy, and poorer nutrition health.

Even if the home cook is not particularly focused on healthy cooking, a home-cooked meals lower the . Home-cooked meals can reduce the likelihood that adults are obese, even if the cook is not focusing on healthy cooking. Restaurants are known for their large portions, fried food, and butter.

The U.S. and Sweden, Finland, and Portugal support the link between obesity and children eating their dinner in front of the TV.

Children are the best dining companions. DigitalVision 10’000 Hours via Getty Images

These benefits are equally applicable to both mothers and fathers. Parents may eat healthier when their children are around to show them good behavior or provide their children with the best nutrition. The eating pace will slow during many conversations, especially with children. This allows diners to feel full and stop eating.

Children who eat more meals with their families are less likely to be obese. It is not true that eating with others reduces weight gain for adults – unless they are dining with children. Parents who dine with their children report fewer binge eating and dieting behaviors. When parents know their children are watching, they may reduce some of these destructive habits.

Mental health benefits despite all the hard work

It might seem counterintuitive to think that a task requiring so much energy and time – planning, shopping, cooking, and serving a meal – can also improve mental health. It is much more evident that children would benefit from parents showing their love and caring by providing a nightly meal.

Researchers have discovered that frequent family meals are associated with improved mental health in both mothers and dads, even though mothers carry more of the meal preparation burden. Parents who regularly eat family meals reported better family functioning and self-esteem and lower stress and depressive symptoms.

The benefits of a slow-roasted shoulder of pork or organic vegetables are not dependent on them. Takeout or food prepared at home can also be a good option since the environment at the table contributes to your emotional well-being.

In a study on parents of toddlers and infants, couples that attached greater meaning and importance to their family meals were happier with their marriage relationship. The causality needs to be clarified. Do couples who have more fulfilling marriages tend to create daily rituals? Is it that daily rituals lead to stronger relationships? If you choose to do so, creating meaningful rituals like a shared mealtime during the early stages of parenting can add predictability and routine in a hectic and fragmented period of life.

Family dinners are the best time for adults to talk and slow down, just like for children. This is a great time to connect with others face-to-face and get away from emails, video calls, and a to-do list. Dinnertime is an excellent time for laughs, decompressing, discussing the day, and planning.

Keep the COVID-19 tradition of family meals.

Families who take the long-term view will also benefit from family dinners. If adolescents are raised with regular family meals, they will be more likely to continue this practice when they become parents. After having six or seven family dinners a week, adults who had the same number of meals as children went on to share regular family meals with their children. The benefits of family dinners can be passed on to future generations.

However, shared mealtime is not accessible to everyone. More frequent family dinners occur among white Americans with higher education levels, married people, and households with incomes in the middle class. The frequency of family meals in the U.S. was relatively stable from 1999 to 2010, but it dropped significantly for families with low incomes (47% to 39%), while it increased for families with high incomes (57% to 61%). Structural disparities explain this gap. Low-income families often have less control over their schedules and may need to work more than one job to get by.

It is possible to pass on a family meal habit from one generation of parents to the next. Klaus Vedfelt/DigitalVision via Getty Images

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Many people are now re-evaluating what they learned from the pandemic and whether it is worth retaining. Some evidence suggests that families ate together more during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Some families that did not prioritize eating together before the pandemic might have a new appreciation for the benefits of commonality. Others may have already marked all their favorite restaurants and are eager to get chefs to cook for them after being exhausted by the homework.

Parents should remember that shared meals are suitable for all family members’ physical and mental health. Why not continue to practice nourishing practices to help everyone heal after this year of loss and disruption? It will be one of the top recommendations in my family therapy practice.