A few years ago a widely-reported study found that kids who regularly ate dinner with their parents were not only were less prone to risky behaviors but also did better in school. Another study, published earlier this year, went further. Its results showed that the more family dinners they had, the better kids fared emotionally. My wife and I try to have at least one of us home for dinner every night, though I’m not sure these researchers would be as impressed as I was with my 9-year-old son’s performance at a recent dinner.
Act I
Me: How was school?
Elena: I had a 2-hour class (eye roll) in the art of the Greeks and Romans.
Adam: That’s a lot of penises.
Act II
I can’t even remember what the topic was.
Adam: You’re a hypocrite Elena.
Elena: No I’m not! And by way, you don’t even know what “hypocrite” means!
Adam seems a bit off balance, like Elena caught him. He pauses, and uncertainly spits it out.
Adam: It’s when a person does something that is different than what they say they believe?
Elena, who is three years older than him and is rarely trumped by him intellectually, is stunned. I am too. Adam might be as well.
Me: Adam, you nailed it! Take a victory lap, dude!
That’s all he needed to hear. He gets up from the table and his plate of ravioli and starts dancing around in as if he were a member of LMFAO (whose big hit last year was “I’m Sexy And I Know It.”)
Laughter all around.
Act III
Me: Enough! Back to dinner, please.
I do wonder whether these were the kind of timeless family moments the researchers had in mind, with their encouraging news about the importance of the family dinner. But I hope so.
Eric Messinger is the editor of New York Family. You can reach him at emessinger@manhattanmedia.com.
