Occasionally the academic world and the news media rediscover some truths that were obvious to middle America all along. For example, See my previous posts:
• News Flash: Good for Children, and
• New Flash: Eating Dinner with Your Teens Helps
Here are two more:
• Family meals, stories boost child confidence. “Research by two Emory University psychology professors(Robyn Fivush and Marshall Duke) shows that families who regularly share meals together have children who know more about their family history and tend to have higher self-esteem, interact better with their peers and show higher resilience in the face of adversity. In addition, families who openly discuss emotions associated with negative events, such as the death of a relative or a pet, have children with higher self-esteem and sense of control.”
• MIT economist Jonathan Gruber asks Is Religion Good for You? "Doubling the rate of religious attendance raises household income by 9.1 percent, decreases welfare participation by 16 percent from baseline rates, decreases the odds of being divorced by 4 percent , and increases the odds of being married by 4.4 percent."
Maybe somebody will do some research demonstrating that there is a high correlation between health, happiness and income for families that go to church regularly, pray at dinner, and talk with each other about the day’s activities. Maybe the mainstream media will report it as a new discovery by modern psychology. Maybe some popular psych guru will write a best seller titled The Family that Prays Together Stays Together
Watch this space. You might read it here first.
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