Parent Tips: Dinner equals Drug Prevention

Do you remember your childhood experiences surrounding the dinner table. Did you have a set time when you sat down with your family? Did mom or dad tell you “don’t be late for dinner?” You knew the rules, hurry up, when mom called for dinner, clean up what you were doing, wash your hands and sit down at that the table. No fuss, no arguments, it just wasn’t allowed.

  

What were the discussions like around the dinner table, if it was like my house, they were lively. Sometimes they were over sports teams, other times, current events, activities at school or what chores we were supposed to do that we had not finished yet. There were good times, funny times and sometimes, in my home there was a bit of yelling. I mean after all I grew up in an Italian household. Yelling was like a religion for some. But I will say this at that time, while we were eating, we were a “family”, bonded, strong and one.

What happened after dinner? Was it someone’s chore to clear the table, washes the dishes. Did you play a game, talk, laugh or tell stories.

 Did you know that between 1999 and 2011, teens were asked, other than food, what did they consider the best part of family dinners? More than half surveyed said “that talking, sharing, catching up and interacting with family members is the best part.”

  

The study was conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. The founder of the program states that “As the quality of teens relationships with heir parents declines, their likelihood of using tobacco, alcohol and marijuana rises. Simples are important, too: teens who believe their older siblings have tried illegal drugs are more likely to say they expect to try drugs in their future.”

CASA found that there is a relationship between the frequency of family dinners and teen drinking, smoking and other drug use. The research said those teens that ate two or less family dinners were;

• Three times more likely to try marijuana.
• Two-and-a-half times more likely to smoke cigarettes
• One and a half times more likely to drink alcohol

They also found that frequent family dinners also helped:

• Lower levels of family tension.
• Teenagers who often said their parents are proud of them.
• Teenagers who more often said that they can confide in their parents about serious problems.

The CASA’s research confirms the common-sense notion that shared dinners make for stronger families. Yet many parents are challenged to put this simple idea into practice. The challenges that parents simply do not have enough time in to go around. Between after school activities, schedules, parent’s work schedules and a variety of other activities, in order to make those family connections it requires a concerted effort.

Here are some tips to help:

• Make it a requirement – Set a non-negotiable rule about the number of dinners that your teenager is expected to eat with you each week.
• Involve teenagers in all phases of the meal – Whenever possible, involve teenagers in planning and preparing the meal. Your children will more often come to the dinner table as willing participants if you do this.
• Make meals enjoyable – While it isn’t always possible to avoid discussions on controversial topics – for examples, homework and peer groups – effort should be made to talk about things that interest all members of the family and won’t cause conflict.

The research shows that teens that have a good relationship with Mom and or Dad are less likely to abuse harmful substances. It also shoes that teens that eat dinner with their families are also more likely to attend religious services that contribute to stronger family values as well.