Have family meals gone out of fashion
The days of families sitting down together every evening for a meal are often said to be long gone and their demise is sometimes seen as symptomatic of the breakdown in family life,
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Can it also have led to a decline in respect between generations?
Columnists, parenting experts and even government ministers have decried the decline in families sitting down together for a hearty meal and a chat about the day's events.
When Tony Blair put "respect" at the heart of the government's agenda for its third term, his Home Office minister Hazel Blears said getting families to eat together was a good starting point.
But sociologist Anne Murcott said we often make assumptions the family meal is in decline without firm evidence.
While there have been snapshot surveys and market research studies, she found no single academic research study examining how often families ate together.
"People don't appreciate that a statement that family meals are in decline needs evidence because it repeated so often.
"Because it is repeated though does not mean it is true,
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She said the government was as guilty as anyone in making assumptions without checking if this was borne out by facts.
But there is undoubtedly genuine concern about the issue,
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The parenting organisation Raisingkids is so concerned it is running a Back to the Table campaign to get families eating together again.
Dr Pat Spungin, a psychologist and founder of Raisingkids, is convinced of the merits of families eating together to help combat anti social behaviour.
She said mealtimes provided an important place where parents could pass on positive values on a daily basis,
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"If there is no place for teenagers to anchor their values they will turn to their peer group.
"If this is a malign influence then this will have worrying consequences,
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Dr Spungin said studies in the US had consistently highlighted the merits of families eating together.
The Centre for Alcohol and Substance Abuse had found in surveys conducted since 1996 that children who do not eat dinner with their families are 61% more likely to use alcohol, tobacco,
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Teenagers who eat frequent family dinners were less likely to have sex at young ages, get into fights, or be suspended from school,
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She believes eating habits of families do reflect changes in society,
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Kathryn Milburn,
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She said: "There is so much pressure on women to be all singing all dancing.
"They are out in the labour market and trying to do other things like supervising children's homework. They face many demands,
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She has not studied the knock on effects that not having meals as a family may have on anti social behaviour but has examined competing pressures on parents,
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"If they don't manage to sit down as family every evening it is hardly surprising," said Ms Milburn, who is co director of the Centre for Research on families and relationships based at Edinburgh University.