The Surprising Power of Family Meals: How Eating Together Makes Us Smarter, Stronger, Healthier and Happier

by Miriam Weinstein

The Surprising Power of Family Meals is the first book to take a complete look at a ritual that was virtually universal a generation ago but has undergone a striking transformation. No longer honored by society as a time of day that must be set aside, some families see family supper as little more than a quaint relic. But others are beginning to recognize it as a lifeline – a way to connect with their loved ones on a regular basis and to get more enjoyment out of family life. The Surprising Power of Family Meals presents stories, studies, and arguments from the fields of psychology, education, nutrition, family therapy, anthropology, sociology, linguistics, and religion. It provides examples of families and communities around North America responding creatively to the pressures of a 24/7 world to share strategies for taking what is best from our past and transforming it to meet current needs.

Genres: Parenting, Food, Nonfiction, Book Club

260 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2005

About the author

Miriam Weinstein writes about family, food, friendship, and community, as well as on Jewish themes. Her books are warm, humorous, and accessible. Her newest book is All Set for Black, Thanks: A New Look At Mourning.
She lives in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 2 out of 5]

quick notes: author doesn't really know the difference between causation and correlation, and even worse, she doesn't care. eek! see my blog entry about this issue:
http://modicass.blogspot.com/2007/10/...

one redeeming moment--the author snickering to herself at a reception for a promoting family meals day where barbara bush is speaking on the importance of family for preventing drug and alcohol abuse in offspring. ha!

i love cooking, and i love family meals, and i'm not a big fan of overscheduling kids (or adults) but the science in this book is absolute crap.

[vivian josephine · Rating 1 out of 5]

By the first chapter of this book, I knew the authors entire argument. I found myself wanting to skip sections or becoming bored very quickly, the entire book felt like the same two or three points with no nuance for 300 pages. I liked some of the stories, but if the purpose of the book was to persuade and engage, it failed. The thing is, I agree with the author, but don't agree with her delivery of much of the book. I, somehow, felt condescended to even though I do what she advises...

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing... surprisingly more meaningful than I would have ventured. I am more interested in this topic as I explore sharing meals with my family every day. Could eating together change the world? I think it just might.

[Marjorie Elwood · Rating 3 out of 5]

This starts off with what is essentially a love letter to the rituals of family dinner. The rest of the book covers the research backing why it's so important to share dinner together. A lovely book.

[Katelin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great book focusing on the benefits of having meal time together with your family!

[Angela Shaeffer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the research, writing and arguments of this book. I loved the various benefits the author found of eating dinner together and the research supporting each one. After the first chapter, I actually found it hard to put down--I thought it would be a snoozer with some interesting information but difficult to get through, but it was just the opposite. Also I loved the author's tone. This wasn't some know-it-all telling you how perfect she was and we should copy her. Instead it had great research and discussions.

I was the oldest of 6 children and we are all great friends. Now that we're all parents ourselves, we're wondering what our parents did right and what we can do to strengthen our kids' relationships. Family dinners may be one of those factors.

We do "Highs" and "Lows" at dinner--copied straight from the movie "A Story of Us." Its a good way to hear from all the kids, everyone has their own time to say something and share something. Quite frankly, it's not too deep, we're just talking about our day. After reading this book, it seems there's a lot more importance to "Highs and Lows" than probably I even realized.

What I'm going to do differently is involve the kids more in the cooking process. We already have after dinner chores, but now each child will take a turn making the salad one night a week and setting the table another night. This small step can build confidence, creativity, a willingness to try new foods, reading a recipe, responsibility, and is a contribution to the family. We're also going to skip the class that was fun but goes from 6:00 - 7:00. It was so disruptive last year, but the kids loved it. I'm realizing it's really not as important as a more peaceful dinner and evening.

[Andrea · Rating 3 out of 5]

While it was at times a bit condescending and contradictory, overall I thought this book was well researched and interesting. She covers eating disorders, body image, avoiding drugs and alcohol, teen sex, improved family relations, picky eaters, better school performance, etc., etc., as some of the subjects that can be improved by eating each night with your family at your kitchen table. There were sections I lightly skimmed over that I didn't relate to, but was very engaged with the parts I did.

[Jen]

I saw this book when we visited BYU campus this summer, and it was with the text books as required reading for a Family Science course. I was intrigued by the title so I bought it. There are even topics and questions for a book group. Anyone interested in getting a group together to read it, let me know. It's next on my list to read after I'm done with Harry Potter!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great read. Much is common sense (okay, so who didn’t know that we should be eating family dinners together?) I hope I remember this book several years down the road when I have several kids going in several different directions—so I can remember how important it is to make family dining a priority.

{I’ll probably add a few excerpts to my blog sometime soon.]

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was very informational and thorough. It definitely made me want to try harder to have more consistent family dinners. I found myself skimming a lot of it though. It started to become repetitive and some of the stories, or research, I didn't think applied to my life. But it was still a worthwhile read!

[Debbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought that this book was very informative and important to read. It definitely inspired me to try to have more consistent family dinners. Yet I felt like parts of the book became repetitive and boring. I found myself skimming parts of the book that I felt didn't pertain to my life. It was a worthwhile read though!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book totally inspired me to keep working on gathering the family around the dinner table. It made me think alot about my own personal food culture and what food traditions that I want my children to have. Plus, family meals rock!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Our family already eats together just about every night but it was such an interesting read - and gave me some great ideas about how to do family dinners in the future when the kids are older and life is more hectic. Every mother should read this book!

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book just reconfirmed what I already knew. It is nice to see it documented and supported by studies. You will be impressed at how many aspects of life and emotional well being benefit from a regular dinner routine. Read this book and you will never eat dinner on the run again!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun one to read, probably because it mostly just reinforced stuff I already believe about family meals. Jen, I'm totally up for a book group discussion of this one after you read it!

[Jocele · Rating 5 out of 5]

why, oh, why don't we eat together more often...sitting at the table and not in front of the tv...this book helps remind me why it's so important and why we need to make it a priority. great book!

[Bethany Koehn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks ab, for 'telling' me about this book (and thank you goodreads for making it possible!) So far I am loving every page!

[Jami · Rating 4 out of 5]

Easy read, interesting facts. Preaching to the choir if you're reading it, but inspirational all the same. Good book!