Family Dinners and Mental Health

Family dinners often get lost these busy days as we often are running around and on our mobile devices. However in some homes this is an important daily event.

Now an interesting study shows that these get-togethers seem to moderate much of the negative mental health effects of cyber-bullying.

About 19,000 teens completed a survey of cyber-bullying. Those who were exposed to this type of bullying were up to five times more likely to develop substance abuse and mental problems. However having family dinners four times a week made it seven times less likely that those children who were bullyed would have these effects.

An editorialist concluded: "The relatively simple parenting behavior of regularly eating dinner together ... may provide more opportunities for youth disclosure of bullying events."

Regardless of the way this helps, clearly a strong family bond is an important factor in mental stability. At our house, fortunately, my wife was always insistent that we eat dinner together without distraction. Another example of "Mother Knows Best"