The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia) has surveyed thousands of American teens and their parents over the past 17 years and “…consistently found that a child who gets through age 21 without smoking, using illegal drugs or abusing alcohol is virtually certain never to do so.”
Many parents feel there is little they can do to prevent their kids from using these dangerous substances. But the facts paint a different picture! CASA studies show “parents have the greatest influence on whether their teens will choose to use.”
My own experience is identical: When questioning teens, in my practice, I found that those who ate fewer than five family meals per week were twice as likely to use drugs or alcohol or have sex while still in high school as those who sat down more frequently to eat with their family. And a study of 527 kids in Cincinnati showed that those who ate five or more meals per week with their family were better adjusted and less depressed than peers who ate fewer than three family meals a week. Furthermore, the kids who ate family meals did better in school, were less inclined to use drugs, and had better social skills.
Joseph A. Califano, Jr., chairman and president of Columbia University’s CASA, studied the association between family meals and drug abuse and concluded in the September 2007 quarterly report that “… preventing America’s drug problem is not going to be accomplished in court rooms, legislative hearing rooms, or classrooms, by judges, politicians, or teachers. It will happen in living rooms and dining rooms and across kitchen tables by the efforts of parents and families.”
In 2001 CASA launched the first Family Day With a Family Day Proclamation issued by President George W. Bush. The tradition continues with endorsements by President Obama and all of the 50 Governors. Visit their website: http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/. Find more info there, and take the pledge to strengthen your family by eating together!
Those of you who have read Messengers in Denim, know that the family meal has many other advantages; read about them again. But, note that scientists have found that the positive effect of eating together was diminished if the family watched television during dinner. They found that families who watched television while eating ate more junk food, fewer fruits and vegetables, and drank more caffeinated beverages.
So have dinner Monday night to show your support for CASA and for your family, then get in the habit of eating at least five meals with your family every week. Whatever your kids may miss during that time is of little consequence compared to the value of a family meal.
Food nourishes the body, conversation nourishes the mind, and togetherness nourishes the soul. These are things money can’t buy.