Family meals dying out

Britain is turning into a nation of slobbish "Royle families" who eat most of their meals in front of the television, according to a survey.

About one in five, equivalent to some five million British families, said they hardly ever ate together. Children often have meals in their bedrooms watching TV or playing with computer games.

The survey of almost 2,200 parents reveals a huge social change over the past two generations. In the Fifties and Sixties the great majority of families sat down together five or six times a week for a meal. Raisingkids.co.uk, an advice website for parents which commissioned the survey, said the increasing demands on children's time, the proliferation of TV channels and the rise of ready meals were contributing to the trend.

The arrival of almost universal central heating has also played a role. In the past, the kitchen was often the only warm room in the house in winter, preventing children going to their bedrooms.

The organisers of the website warned of the corrosive impact on those families who rarely make the effort to sit down and talk to each other. Dr Pat Spungin, a parenting expert and founder of Raisingkids, said: "The cement of all relationships is talk. If you are not sitting down at meal times and the rest of the day you have all got your own activities then that is diluting the relationship.

"At home children spend more time alone, with their own TVs, computers and music systems and less time in family activities.

"Eating together is often the only opportunity for the family to talk, share experiences, laugh and have family time."

Meals cooked for all the family to share were also more likely to be balanced and nutritious than microwaved meals, she added.

Several families in the survey said they had tried to get their children to eat with them but had given up because "it is too difficult to organise" or "the kids won't cooperate."

Parents who were made to sit down to a family meal when they were young are more likely to continue the tradition with their own children.

The survey also revealed that the restaurant may be taking over from the dining room as an important forum for family life away from the TV. More than half those polled said they ate out together at least once a month.

There is also still support for the traditional Sunday lunch with 30 per cent of parents saying it is the one day when they make a special effort to get all the family together.

Raisingkids.co.uk is promoting the benefits of shared family meals with a "Back to the Table" campaign starting today. It will offer tips on how to encourage more "quality time" at the table, including setting a "realistic" target of three to four meals a week and switching off the TV.