Family dinners of a bygone era: study

Enjoying family meals in front of the television is not a sin, according to Monash University research that challenges the ideals of the sit-down family dinner. New Monash University research, published today in the journal Critical Public Health, has found that families are increasingly eating meals at the kitchen bench or in front of the TV while balancing busy lifestyles. As part of the research, primary school-aged children in Victoria from 50 diverse families kept photos and video of family food consumption, providing a unique window into how busy lifestyles impact family meal-times and create diverse eating habits. The study found that despite sit-down family meals being universally promoted as a solution to complex problems such as childhood obesity, family breakdown and depression, for many families it was unattainable. Families interviewed by researchers revealed working long hours, long commutes, conflicting schedules, children’s sports, and parents’ commitments all impacted on evening meals, with some children eating in the car between activities. Family meals were more likely to be reserved for special occasions such as birthdays and regular meal times, and were less formal and more practical. Monash Professor of Sociology Jo Lindsay, Faculty of Arts, said it was time to collectively challenge the dated and potentially harmful expectations of the role of sit-down family meals. Professor Lindsay added that the supposed benefits and outcomes of eating in structured family meals lacked strong scientific evidence. “We’ve found the traditional sit-down dinner is not the reality we’re seeing in most busy Australian households. Instead, families configure meals in a variety of practical ways to provide nourishment and manage time pressures and relationships,” Professor Lindsay said. “Reinforcing nostalgic versions of family life is just not realistic. We don’t want parents feeling like a moral failure or that they are compromising their child’s health because they are eating separately or in front of the television, it’s just not the case. “Rather than promoting meals of a bygone era, this research suggests that supporting flexible and healthy eating beyond the dinner table may be a more fruitful strategy for promoting public health, and could create a more peaceful and practical mealtime.” This paper draws on data collected as part of a broader study addressing school health messages and the role of children as health advocates in school and family contexts.