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Turn Off the TV at Mealtime

When our kids still lived at home, my wife and I tried to make sure we had dinner as a family almost every night. It wasn't always easy to get the five of us together at the same time. And putting a hot, healthy meal on the table often felt like a real chore. All of us were busy, and making time for a family meal, let alone convincing everyone to sit and talk to each other, sometimes seemed like a Herculean task.

I'm sure it would have been a lot easier, most nights, to buy a one-serving microwave dinner for everyone and turn on the tube. At the time, I think the kids would have loved that kind of meal. But I don't regret for a second the lengths to which my wife and I went to make family dinner a daily ritual. And I know my sons and daughter are glad we took the time to sit down and share food as a family. Some days, it was the only time all of us were in the same room together. Eating dinner together made us a family, and it gave my wife and me a chance to stay engaged, on a daily basis, in our kids' lives. We asked them about their days, made plans for the days to come, and shared lively conversations about the things they cared about.

But all of that preparation and effort - all that togetherness - would have been undermined if we hadn't had one simple rule: Turn off the TV during the meal. That's not just true for my family. It's true for every family. But when you let the TV drown out the conversation, the benefits of family meals diminish dramatically. Unfortunately, 40 percent of Americans have meals with the TV turned on.

Kids who watch a lot of TV, especially during mealtimes, are more likely to be obese and more likely to develop diabetes than kids who don't. All the junk food ads are probably part of the problem, but the metabolism rate while watching TV is actually lower than a resting metabolism rate. What's more, it's impossible to foster the kind of togetherness you need from a family meal when the room is dominated by a blaring TV.

According to Dr. Mary Story, at the University of Minnesota's School of Public Health, "the frequency of family meals is associated with more positive dietary intakes and healthy behaviors among children and adolescents." And a growing body of research has shown that regular family mealtimes correlate with better nutrition, better grades, and less drug use for kids.

Don't get me wrong. I think watching TV together can be a great family activity. It's a great way to share an experience and foster togetherness. It's just not a good substitute for a family meal. Do your family a favor: turn off the TV during mealtime.

David Walsh, Ph.D. is the founder of the MediaWise Movement, a program of the National Institute on Media and the Family (www.mediafamily.org). His latest book, Why Do They Act That Way? A Survival Guide to the Adolescent Brain for You and Your Teen, is a national bestseller.