Benefits of Family Meal Time

Family mealtime has been shown to have numerous benefits. According to the National Center on Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University, compared to kids who have fewer than three family dinners per week, children and teens who have frequent family dinners are:

1. At 70% lower risk for substance abuse
2. Half as likely to try cigarettes
3. Half as likely to be daily cigarette smokers
4. Half as likely to try marijuana
5. Half as likely to get drunk monthly
6. One third less likely to try alcohol
7. Likelier to get better grades in school
8. Less likely to have friends who drink alcohol & use marijuana
9. Likelier to have parents who take responsibility -teen drug use
10. Almost 40% likelier to say future drug use will never happen