New insights on family dinners in 2023
6/13/23 Revised 3/21/24
New, breaking research has found that four in 10 parents report having only three or fewer family dinners per week, leaving 42% feeling “worried.”
According to a new poll of 2,000 U.S. parents, 56% believe having a shared meal together is one of the best ways to bond with their family, but well over half (54%) complain about not getting enough quality time together.
However, when families do sit down for at-home dinners, meals are full of laughter (20%) and good conversation (34%). Lifestyle demands and poor work-life balance are the usual culprits for why ongoing, regular family dinners are so elusive.
Families want to eat together…
A study commissioned by a healthy convenience food and conducted by the pollsters at OnePoll discovered many parents say it would be easier for them to have more home-cooked family dinners if they:
Meal planned ahead for the week (20%)
Had quicker, healthier meals to prepare (18%).
And wouldn’t it be nice if everyone’s schedules coincided (18%)?
Legacy matters…meals from the family cookbook mean the most….
Parents believe that the essential factors of a home-cooked dinner are:
A meal using a passed down or favorite family recipe (47%),
Engaging and interesting conversations at the table (38%),
With all family members in the household present at the table (34%).
Parents also shared what they want their kids to remember most about the significance of family dinners:
Sharing family time and connection (52%).
Appreciating the importance of spending time with family (41%)
Learning to make home-cooked meals themselves (40%).
Wanting to learn how to cook (35%).
Curious generational differences in family dinner
It’s a curious distinction. On the one hand, millennial and Gen X parents want their kids to know the importance of spending time with family (43% and 34%, respectively), while 43% of Gen Z parents also want their kids to have an experiential love of food.
To spark conversation with their kiddos, 47% of parents said they have a tradition at the dinner table, including 26% who like to share what they are grateful for and 17% who use a game or discussion starter to facilitate conversation during family dinners.
In 2023, parents reported spending even more time in the kitchen, taking an average of nearly 45 minutes preparing meals at home but only spending an average of about 36 minutes eating together with family.
“With after school activities and busy schedules, making family dinners happen at home on a regular basis isn’t easy,” said the corporate funder of the research. in a statement released with the research findings they said:
“That’s why having options of nutritious whole foods that are pre-washed and quick to make – like our products – are important so families can spend less time in the kitchen and more time creating memories.”
Try it, you’ll like it! Family dinner and exposing kids to new tastes…
The research also discovered that encouraging kids to try new foods was a thing:
61% of parents incentivize their kids to eat certain foods on their dinner plates with later bedtimes.
45% offered more screen time after dinner to try a new food.
Some parents offered dessert (42%) or extra time to spend on a favorite activity (41%), perhaps a second helping of a food you love? (38%), and even cash bribes! (27%).
Close to three-quarters (73%) of the surveyed parents said eating together is more enjoyable if they also participate in meal creation.
18% want their kids to see dinner time as a joyful part of the day.
Nearly three in five (59%) let their kids cook with them in the kitchen as long as they’re at least 12 years old.
“Sharing a home-cooked meal with your family helps nurture a love for food and provides an opportunity for invaluable quality family time and conversation…that’s why we’re passionate about making it easier for families to spend more time together around the table and feel good about eating whole foods, packed with nutrients.”
It’s good to see meaningful research that may result in more food products and packaging that could offer parents some pragmatic time-saving tools to craft a family dinner experience as a future cultural norm. Let’s hope!
Be well, Stay kind, and Godspeed.
RESEARCH:
This was a random double-opt-in survey of 2,000 American parents of school-aged children commissioned by The Little Potato Company between February 1 and February 6, 2023.
It was conducted by market research company OnePoll, whose team members are the Market Research Society members and have corporate membership to the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) and the European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research (ESOMAR).
