Emotional Resiliency

Mealtime conversations are a great venue for telling family stories and sharing gratitude

• Resiliency and emotional health increased by telling family stories and expressing gratitude

Family stories: research conducted at Emory University, says Feiler, “Kids who knew more about their family history had a higher sense of self-esteem and a greater belief that they could control their own lives. It was the number one predictor of a child’s emotional wellbeing.” Dinner is the perfect time to create and reinforce your own family narrative and to give your children a sense of belonging and a strong “intergenerational identity.” FamilySearch Wiki article, Creating Oral Histories.

Gratitude

Connections increased: A national survey found that less than one-third of American families (ie: less than 3 out of 10 families) eat dinner together most nights, but when asked, the great majority of people say they believe that family dinner is one of the most important ways to maintain family communication (William J. Doherty, PhD, The Intentional Family)

• Decrease in risky behavior risks (https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(05)00577-X/fulltext)

Increase in healthy eating habits: mealtime conversations reduce the changes of obesity in kids