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It doesn’t cost extra

Jun 29, 2009

A recent study looked at low-income families in terms of their strengths, not just their deficits. Researchers analyzed data for more than 100,000 families from the National Survey of Children’s Health.

While it isn’t surprising to learn that families below the official poverty line are disadvantaged in areas such as health and dental insurance, as well as concerns about their neighborhoods, some aspects of family life were consistent across the economic spectrum. Parents in very similar percentages reported about how close they felt to their children. And in one area, low-income families actually did better --- they reported sharing more family meals.

When asked how many family meals they had had in the past week, 63 percent of parents in low-income families said six or more. In moderate-income families, those who shared six or more meals came in at 53 percent, while in higher income groups the number was even less -- 47 percent. The study’s authors put this finding under the category of “positive differences in poor families,” and noted that, “Eating meals as part of other family routines is an important contributor to the welfare of children.”

Nobody is making an argument for the benefits of poverty. But lack of money is not a detriment in this case. Family meals are the kind of benefit available to us all.

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