(Photo by August de Richelieu via Pexels) By Stephen Beech via SWNS COVID-19 lockdowns put family dinners back on the menu, according to a new study. Researchers found that the pandemic not only led many families to eat more meals at home, it also had the additional benefit of increasing the quality of family time during those dinners. The American study showed that families who ate together more often during the pandemic also had more positive interactions, shared news and information, and even embraced technology such as video conferencing to connect with distant relatives.
Study lead author Dr. Anne Fishel, a researcher in family therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, said: "The predominance of past research on family dinners has focused on frequency as the key predictor of benefits for children and adolescents. "This study highlights the importance of examining both frequency and quality to understand the full picture of how shared meals can impact families.
" The research team examined data from a survey of 517 diverse parents across the United States, conducted in May 2021. Their aim was to investigate changes in family dinner frequency and quality during the pandemic. Participants were asked about dinner frequency, quality and post-pandemic expectations.
The survey included questions about positive and negative interactions, family support and incorporation of the outside world. (Photo by Julia M Cameron via Pexels) The participants were asked questions su.