Lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic forced families to isolate at home and eat more meals together. This brought some unexpected benefits.

A survey by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of New Hampshire reveals that families who ate together more often during the pandemic reported an increase in the quality of family time during those dinners.

A warm and welcoming atmosphere at the table, one in which everybody feels others will listen to and respond to what they have to say seemed to be key.

“Even though parents did not intentionally sign up for more shared meals, an increase in the number of family meals led to more quality interactions at dinnertime,” Anne Fishel, coauthor of a new paper discussing the survey results, told TheDoctor.

The survey's results highlight the beneficial effects shared meals have on family dynamics. Earlier studies of family dinners focused on the nutritional, academic, and mental health benefits of family meals for children and adolescents, explained Fishel. The current findings show how eating together improves families' interactions.

The nationwide survey included over 500 parents who had children living at home at least half the time. The children in these ethnically and socioeconomically diverse families represented a wide age range, from infants to young adults. Participants were asked about the frequency of family dinners and the quality of family members' interactions during the meal. They were also queried about their expectations for continuing to eat together as a family after the pandemic.

More than 60 percent of the people responding to the survey said they ate family meals together more frequently during the pandemic than before it started. They also reported a significant increase in positive interactions during meals.

Over half of the respondents said they talked more about their day, more about their identity as a family, expressed gratitude more often, and felt more connected to others around the table during their pandemic dinners. Over 65 percent said they laughed together more often.

Family meals gave families a chance to discuss news and information during the pandemic, which may have given young children an opportunity to talk with their parents about questions and worries they might have about what was happening.

A warm and welcoming atmosphere at the table, one in which everybody feels others will listen to and respond to what they have to say seemed to be key. “In an atmosphere like that, it is easier to relax and laugh,” Fishel said.

Family meals also gave families a chance to discuss news and information from the outside world during the pandemic, which may have given young children an opportunity to raise questions and worries they might have about what was happening with their parents.

Parents reported that they usually did not allow screens during the meal, but dining with extended family via video platforms such as Zoom became commonplace during the pandemic, strengthening members' sense of belonging to a larger family unit. Most parents who allowed the use of these platforms reported they planned to continue doing so as pandemic restrictions were lifted, a result that surprised Fishel.

“I thought that virtual meals were something that parents would want to ditch as soon as possible, like masks!” she said. The fact that technology allowed families to connect with extended family and friends was a positive discovery that families may have realized they enjoyed, Fishel, a clinician and researcher in family therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital, suggested.

The paper is published in Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice.