New Research on Dinner, Divorce, and Living Together

Three new research studies are making us question what we thought was statistical fact. Here's a quick overview from the Population Association of America's annual meeting.

- Does dining together make for healthier, smarter kids? Popular wisdom and some research said yes, until recently. But new longitudinal research says having dinner together may not make a statistical difference. The research is preliminary, but for harried parents trying to feed and bathe kids at the end of the day, it may be a welcome relief to know a few meals eaten apart won't harm your child's chance of getting into Harvard.

Are you one of these frenzied parents? Here's an article you can relate to.

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Give yourself a break. Concentrate on being attentive to your kids, whether that's over a meal, while you help with homework, or in the midst of a rousing Wii game. And let the new found freedom not to dine with your kids give you the time you need to have a Tuesday night dinner with your spouse.

- If your parents divorced, you're more likely to as well, right? Divorce research has often shown it tends to be inter-generational. But new research says the most important factor might be the type of marriage your parents had. Did they yell, loudly? You may be more likely to divorce, probably as a result of learned communication patterns. Those of us whose now-divorced parents fought more amicably may not have a significantly increased risk of divorce.

- Living together before marriage puts you at a higher risk for divorce, right? Maybe not, now that cohabitation is more common.