Parenting News: UK Parents Use Evening Meals as a Chance to Tear Kids Away From TV

1 April 2013

UK Parents Use Evening Meals as a Chance to catch up with kids

· Over half say it’s the only time they properly talk to their children.

· Almost one in three British families sit down for dinner together every day.

· But 1 in 10 still never sit down for a family meal during the week.

· Families spend on average 200 minutes per week talking together around the dinner table.

· Almost half say it brings the family together and away from distractions such as TV or computers and feel doing so teaches their children good manners.

UK parents are using meal times during the week as a way to interact with their kids, and get to know them better with over half saying it’s the only time they can have a proper chat with their children.

Over two thirds of families use Monday to Friday dinner times as a way to find out how their kids got on at school that day, with 90 per cent saying it helps them to bond and feel closer as a family.

We encourage those one in ten families that currently don't sit down for a family meal in the week to try and find the time to get together. A week day meal is the perfect time to catch up with....

Parents are still finding it hard to get their children away from the TV, computers or mobiles, with more than two fifths saying they can only manage it when having a meal at a table.

Despite this positive sentiment one in ten Brits still never sit down with the family during the week as the pressures of modern life make it increasingly difficult to find the time.

Top of the list of reasons for foregoing the weekday family meal is work pressures. Family eating times and taste preferences also come into it with 12 per cent saying that children like to eat a different meal from those parents enjoy.

However, for those who are in favour of a family dinner during the week half said it helped them teach their children good table manners and get them away from the TV as well as providing a chance to chat.

The research by Bisto also reveals that the average family will now spend 200 minutes talking together around the dinner table.

A spokesperson for Bisto said: “We encourage those one in ten families that currently don't sit down for a family meal in the week to try and find the time to get together.

“A week day meal is the perfect time to catch up with family members and chat about what’s going on in our busy lives.

“It doesn’t have to be a complicated or lavish affair - a simple family meal such as chicken dinner with gravy is enough to get the family talking.”

Roast chicken dinner is the nation's favourite evening meal

It seems that predictably women really are the chattiest with four in ten mums being the most talkative at the table, followed closely by daughters of the household at 19 per cent.

Two fifths also see the week day meal as an important way to make sure that kids are eating healthy food. The study reveals that the nation’s favourite Monday to Friday meal is Roast Chicken Dinner smothered in gravy accompanied with a good portion of vegetables to help get the kids on their way to five a day.

The majority of households now have seven family meal ideas in their Monday to Friday dinnertime repertoire, even more than one for every day of the working week.

Top dinner time topics:

1. What happened at school

2. Plans for the weekend

3. Friends

4. Extended family news

5. TV shows

6. Holidays

7. Pets

8. Hobbies

9. Chores

10. Celebrity gossip

UK’s top ten Monday to Friday meals: