Skip to content
  • Subscribe
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Instagram
  • Email
  • Home
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Clumns
Suburban Chicagoland

Suburban Chicagoland

Original News, Features & Opinion on local and regional news you won't find anywhere else

  • About
    • About
    • Advertise
    • Our Writers
      • Ray Hanania
      • Bill Lipinski
      • Biography: Aaron Hanania
      • Steve Metsch
      • Steve Neuhaus
    • Terms of Service
    • Privacy Policy
    • Reach Out
  • Sections
    • Events
    • Opinion
    • News
    • Features
    • Seniors
    • Comic Strip
  • Library
    • “MIdnight Flight” Online Book
      • Midnight Flight Book Overview
      • Midnight Flight Introduction
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 1
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 2
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 3
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 4
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 5
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 6
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 7
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 8
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 9
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 10
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 11
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 12
      • Midnight Flight Chapter 13
    • Villages, Cities & Towns
    • Federal Office Holders
    • County Officials
    • Legislators
  • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
  • Comment
  • Podcast
    • Ray Hanania on Politics
    • Two Guys on Politics
    • Hanania on Tiktok
  • News Wire
  • Toggle search form
  • Congresswoman Robin Kelly official photo
    Robin Kelly details what Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill means for Illinois Federal
  • Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
    Orland Park Police Department Begins Fourth of July Traffic Safety Campaign Crime
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Dad secured important court victory, keeping sons safe at home Dads' Rights
  • Leving Matrimonial Law Seminar: Orders of Protection Pursuant to The Illinois Domestic Violence Act Arthur Kallow
  • Summer Smash Entertainer lineup 2025
    Summer Smash Festival returns this weekend June 20-22 at SeatGeek Bridgeview
  • Fireworks display for the 4th of July. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Orland Park Announces Independence Day Celebration July 3 Events
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Leving team’s court victory protected dad’s daughters from reported danger Dads' Rights
  • Illinois House Speaker Michael J. Madigan. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Madigan sentenced to stiff seven and a half years in prison on corruption case Chicago
  • Attorneys Jeffery Leving Arthur Kallow
    Honoring Fathers: A Father’s Day Reflection Arthur Kallow
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Understanding Cook County Property Taxes: A Guide for Homeowners Blogger
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Two Guys on Politics Podcast on Elon Musk, Trump’s Parade, LA Riots, and Middle East ban Bill Lipinski
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Often overlooked single fathers deserve praise this Father’s Day Blogger
  • Fentanyl drugs Courtesy of the DEA
    Five Defendants Charged in Federal Investigation Targeting Fentanyl Sales in Chicago Crime
  • Illinois State Senator Michael Hastings. Photo courtesy of the Illinois State Senate
    Southland manufacturer receives state funding thanks to Hastings Business
  • Stolen merchandise in the arrest of Isadore House by Cook County Sheriff 06-11-25
    Chicago Man Faces Felony after $400,000 in Stolen Merchandise Recovered Chicago
Fathers Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving

This year, let Thanksgiving dinner be the start of having family dinners more often

Posted on November 24, 2022November 24, 2022 By Ray Hanania No Comments on This year, let Thanksgiving dinner be the start of having family dinners more often
SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  

This year, let Thanksgiving dinner be the start of having family dinners more often

By Jeffery M. Leving

Thanksgiving is not only a time to give thanks, but a time to enjoy being with family. For most American families, it’s a time to come together and reflect around the table — something that can and should be a goal for more than one day a year.

There was a time when family dinnertime was a standard in most households, but sadly we have gotten away from that. All too often, after-school activities, social schedules and other things have dictated that we often eat alone at the kitchen counter, while perusing our smartphones.

I’m well aware that this is 2022, not 1952, and the days when mom would stay home to tend to the house and have dinner ready when dad arrived home from work are long gone. Many American households experience divorce, and most mothers, divorced or still married, need to work, so those days will never return. However, many families can and should make an effort to have a regular time to eat together, without electronics being present, at least once a week. And for divorced families — there’s no reason why a divorced mother or divorced father should not strive to eat at a table with their children.

Just to be clear, the changes from the 1950s to the present have not all been bad for families. During that period, women joined the workforce in mass, and that has allowed many divorced or single mothers to raise families. It also has brought society closer and closer to having equality between the sexes. However, for many families, there has also been a cost. Some families are rarely all together around a table, and on the rare occasion that they are, they often are tuned into a television show or playing with their smartphones instead of communicating with each other.

Fathers Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving
Fathers Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving

 

The harm this does is nothing we haven’t known about for several years now, even before the advent of smartphones. In the late 1990s, a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that eating family meals may enhance the health and well-being of adolescents. Specifically, the study found that the frequency of family meals was inversely associated with tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use; low grade point average; depressive symptoms; and suicide and recommended a public education campaign on the benefits of family mealtime.

 

We also know that for young children, having family dinners helps promote language skills as you talk with them, and your partner, about the day. It also helps them develop patience and dexterity through the use of utensils. And it helps them develop social skills that include manners and taking turns.

Another study, published in the journal Pediatrics, found that kids who regularly enjoyed family meals were less likely to experience symptoms of depression and less likely to get into drug use. Research also suggests that family dinners produce a strong bond between family members. We all lead our separate lives at work and school, and this time allows us to reconnect with family members.

It should be no surprise that family meals help children get better grades. The National Center On Addiction And Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) has done many studies on the importance of family meals. One showed that kids who eat with their family less than three times a week were twice as likely to report receiving Cs or worse in school. Kids who ate with family five to seven times per week did much better, reporting mostly As and Bs. Additionally, children who have infrequent family meals, defined as two or less per week, were twice as likely to smoke daily and get drunk monthly, according to CASA.

Another benefit to family meals is that most families seem to make better food choices than if they were eating alone. One study from Stanford University reported that kids who eat family dinners are less likely to eat fried food and saturated fats, while seeking out stuff like fruits and veggies.

This also was backed up by the American Society For Nutrition, which found that young children who ate at home with their families had a lower body mass index than kids who did not. That’s most likely due to the fact that home cooking is healthier than restaurant meals, which boast larger portion sizes and higher calorie counts.

While the need to work long hours is most often cited as the reason why parents (whether married or divorced) do not have time for sit-down dinners with their children, it should be noted that family dinners are often a lot cheaper than picking up food from the local fast-food restaurant.

It is five times more expensive to order take-out from a restaurant than it is to cook at home, according to one study.  A sample estimate, done before the recent spike in inflation, found that a family of four could save nearly $40 a week, per person, by simply shifting meals into the house. For a family of 4, that’s $640 a month. That’s a significant amount of money saved while your child gets better grades and is less likely to smoke or drink — all things every family would likely welcome.

So, while it will no doubt take a sustained effort for many families, having family dinner-time, at least a few times a week, should be a goal — as the benefits to children are many — and for many, can be the difference between succeeding in life or falling through the cracks. Let this Thanksgiving be the first of many going forward.

Jeffery M. Leving is founder and president of the Law Offices of Jeffery M. Leving Ltd., and is an advocate for the rights of fathers. He is the author of “Fathers’Rights,” “Divorce Wars” and “How to be a Good Divorced Dad.” Leving can be found on Twitter and Instagram @Dadsrights

newswire info
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania
Ray Hanania is an award-winning columnist, author & former Chicago City Hall reporter (1977-1992). A veteran who served during the Vietnam War and the recipient of four SPJ Peter Lisagor Awards for column writing, Hanania writes weekly opinion columns on mainstream American & Chicagoland topics for the Southwest News-Herald, Des Plaines Valley News, the Regional News, The Reporter Newspapers, and Suburban Chicagoland.  

His award winning columns can be found at www.HANANIA.COM Subscribe FREE today

Hanania also writes about Middle East issues for the Arab News, and The Arab Daily News criticizing government policies in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Hanania was named "Best Ethnic American Columnist" by the New America Media in November 2007, and is the 2009 recipient of the SPJ National Sigma Delta Chi Award for column writing.

Email Ray Hanania at rghanania@gmail.com.

Follow RayHanania at Twitter
Ray Hanania
Latest posts by Ray Hanania (see all)
  • Robin Kelly details what Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill means for Illinois - June 19, 2025
  • Orland Park Police Department Begins Fourth of July Traffic Safety Campaign - June 19, 2025
  • Dad secured important court victory, keeping sons safe at home - June 19, 2025
  • Tweet

SHARE THIS STORY
            
 
  
 
 
 
           
Features, Jeffery Leving, Law, News Tags:attorney, Dads' rights, families, family, father's rights, Jeffery Leving, Jeffery M. Leving, law, Thanksgiving

Post navigation

Previous Post: CLE at Leving firm to focus on analyzing financial records to discover adverse party’s assets in Domestic Relations cases
Next Post: American traditions like Thanksgiving should not be broken because of latter day spin

Related Posts

  • Volunteers ready the Care Packages for Veterans at Park View Christian Church Nov. 4, 2018. The Care Package Collection was organized by the Orland Park Veteran's Commission. Photo courtesy of the Orland Park Veteran's Commissioner.
    Orland Veterans host care package collection News
  • Dads' Rights Attorney Jeffery M. Leving
    Leving team wins court order to get dad’s daughter enrolled in school Arthur Kallow
  • Congressman Sean Casten, Audrey, Gwen, and wife Sara. Photo courtesy of Casten's website. Photo courtesy of Casten's website
    Casten family thanks public for condolences over daughter’s untimely death Cook County
  • Attorney Jeffery M. Leving, author of Fathers’ Rights, Divorce Wars and How to be a Good Divorced Dad. His books are now available at several Little Free Library locations, including this one at 3415 W. Arthington St. in Chicago.
    Help for fathers now available at Little Free Libraries Books & Films
  • Prayers answered in Lyons News
  • Construction on I-294 will cause delays Chicago

More Related Articles

Chicago Wolves Hockey. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Wolves Chicago Wolves begin new winning streak as AHL team returns to ice Chicago
NARAL members in Illinois show their support for Marie Newman NARAL stands with Marie Newman in 3rd District Congressional race elections
Biden seen as being better for Middle East according to Arab News/YouGov poll sees  elections
Chicago Wolves face-off with Toronto Marlies Nov. 13, 2021 Chicago Wolves sweep AH regular season awards Chicago
The King's Pawn book cover. By Aaron Hanania. Science Fiction novel, published in 2018 Video Interview: Aaron Hanania talks about his new book Aaron Hanania
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart talks with volunteers during a cleanup of the Deer Creek River in Ford Heights Village Friday Nov. 10, 2023. Photo courtesy of Sheriff Tom Dart Sheriff Dart and Friends of the Chicago River Join Forces to Cook County

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Login with your Social ID
Subscribe to Ray Hanania's column graphic

Enter Your Email to Subscribe to Ray Hanania’s Columns

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Attorneys Jeffery Leving Arthur Kallow
    Honoring Fathers: A Father’s Day Reflection
    June 13, 2025
  • Cook County Treasurer Maria Papas
    Understanding Cook County Property Taxes: A Guide for Homeowners
    June 13, 2025
  • 06-04-25 Two Guys on Politics Background Zoom LOGO with images
    Two Guys on Politics Podcast on Elon Musk, Trump’s Parade, LA Riots, and Middle East ban
    June 12, 2025
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Often overlooked single fathers deserve praise this Father’s Day
    June 12, 2025
  • Ray Hanania joins Thom Serafin on The Crisis Cast Podcast this week discussing presidential politics, journalism and how to understand Trump's reality TV persona style
    Podcast: Musk vs Trump and the impact of media distortion on news
    June 11, 2025
  • Opinion: Edgar County Watchdogs continue to exaggerate and lie for political union pals
    June 8, 2025
  • NEWS
  • Congresswoman Robin Kelly official photo
    Robin Kelly details what Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill means for Illinois
    June 19, 2025
  • Photo by Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash
    Orland Park Police Department Begins Fourth of July Traffic Safety Campaign
    June 19, 2025
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
  • SPORTS
  • Chicago Wovles play the Rockford Ice Hogs, Feb. 23, 2025
    Chicago Wolves Hockey skate Past Rockford Icehogs 4 to 2
    February 23, 2025
  • Chicago Wolves player Andrew Poturalski. Photo courtesy of the Chicago Wolves. https://www.chicagowolves.com
    The Chicago Wolves dispatched the Iowa Wild 4-1 on Saturday night at Allstate Arena.
    February 22, 2025
  • NEWS RELEASES
  • Congresswoman Robin Kelly official photo
    Robin Kelly details what Trump’s “Big Ugly Bill means for Illinois
    June 19, 2025
  • 05-23-25 Jeffery M. Leving
    Leving team’s court victory protected dad’s daughters from reported danger
    June 14, 2025
John Kass Columns

Order the book PoweR PR; Ethnic Activists Guide to Strategic Communications

YOUTUBE VIDEOS

CLICK TO SUBSCRIBE TO RAY HANANIA'S YOUTUBE VIDEOS


Click here to view the video on YouTube or use the widget below.

Follow Ray Hanania at
Twitter
Facebook
TitkTok
BlueSky
RayHanania Columns

Creative Commons License
All works on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

Categories

Copyright © 2022 Suburban Chicagoland & Urban Strategies Group

Powered by PressBook Premium theme