By Cortney St. John
Round Table web producer
On a busy Monday night, Mom picks up the children from sports practice. Her drive home is filled with laughter and a van of rambunctious children. Arriving home, she immediately heads for her lounge chair so she can relax and catch up on the latest news. Occupying the kitchen, the children spread their books across the table, getting started on their homework. Dad gets home from work the same time as usual and,without any delay, he starts to make dinner. But when he calls the family to eat, everyone grabs a plate and a seat – on the couch.
Television today has become a distraction to families, detracting from their conversation time at the dinner table.
A survey by the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston asked 287 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-graders about their dinner routines for a week. The researchers discovered that those who ate dinner with their families ate more vegetables and drank fewer sodas. The children were also more likely to eat lower-fat foods, such as low-fat milk, salad dressing and lean meats.
“TV promotes unhealthy eating by the ads directed at kids,” said Middletown High School freshman Rachelle Miller.
According to an article from The Telegraph, “Making time for formal meals at a table rather than grabbing food while on the run or in front of the television could help dieters to cut down on unhealthy snacking.”
“When I’m eating at the table… my mom cooks something healthy. When I’m eating in front of the TV, it’s generally snack foods,” said MHS junior Sarah Weltman.
Trey Parker, MHS sophomore, said that television can have both positive and negative affects when eating in front of it.
“I think it could either make families talk more to each other or less. If they watch something together, then they can talk about it and enjoy it, but if [families] watch separate things, they won’t spend much time together,” he said.
Parker said he prefers eating at the table as a family because they are able to talk about each other’s day. “If we didn’t eat together, I probably wouldn’t talk to them that much,” said Parker.
Families that eat together have closer relationships with one another and have fewer disconnects when it comes to communicating as a family.
“[Television] absorbs the attention of everyone there,” said MHS senior Marc Diederich, who also prefers eating dinner at the table as a family. “There’s no time for conversation.”
