Family meal seen as way to reconnect families

By Tom Hals

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Forget shuttling kids between sports and tutors or enduring a long commute to live near a better school: improving a child's chance of success may be as simple as a regular, leisurely family dinner.

That may seem a quaint throwback, but parents and organizations are rallying around the family dinner and promoting it in fight against over-scheduled lives.

"You have people who are basically workaholics and have lost all their priorities. They have lost all touch with what's important," said Bonnie Michaels, a work-life consultant. "Kids are over-scheduled and over-maxed terribly."

Researchers say piling on kids' activities to impress college admission boards or working late to advance a career cause family connections to suffer.

"Eating together always provided a grounding for family members," said Michaels.

A national study of kids between 3 and 12 found that more meal time at home was the single strongest predictor of better achievement scores, ahead of time studying or in church.

Researchers found a strong link between eating at least five dinners a week with a parent and children who are less likely to use drugs and develop good eating habits.

When Stephanie Lally returned to work as a human resources professional after three years at home she took a job with Texas Roadhouse Inc. partly because the restaurant chain was supportive of her efforts to be at home for a regular dinner with her young daughter.