A groundbreaking global study has just shown what we suspected all along: Eating together does make us happier! On this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Annie and Bri sit down with one of the study's co-authors, Micah Kaats, to dive deep into what he and his team learned about happiness and shared meals.

Key Takeaways:

• Go to 1:50 for Micah's overview of the key findings
• Go to 9:54 for a discussion about the clear upward trend in young people eating alone
• Go to 16:41 for a TFDP subscriber question about eating alone
• Go to 22:13 for a breakdown of cultural differences
• Go to 25:04 for a breakdown of gender differences
• Go to 32:06 for food, fun, and conversation ideas related to this episode

Related Episodes and Links:

• Episode 2 (“Is it the Family, or the Dinner?”)
• World Happiness Report 2025: Chapter 3
• Micah's salad recipe
• Cat and Cow Game
• Try Not to Laugh Challenge

About Micah: Micah Kaats is a PhD candidate in Public Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School where he researches the drivers and downstream effects of happiness and social connectedness. He also serves as a Research Associate for the Wellbeing Research Centre at Oxford University and Senior Analyst for the Happiness Research Institute in Copenhagen. He has designed, implemented, and supervised studies of more than 20,000 participants in over 24 countries. His work has been featured in the New York Times, the Economist, Vox, and Forbes. He holds Master’s degrees in Applied Ethics and Economic Policy from Utrecht University, and a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from UPenn.

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We tend to think of family dinners as being about the kids. But all families start with two people, and some families stay that way. What does the research tell us about the benefits of shared meals for adults? And how can couples use their dinners together as a way to strengthen their bond and connect with one another, no matter how many children are at the table, or what phase of life they're in?

In this episode, Bri and Annie draw on Annie's decades of experience in family therapy, as well as their work together on The Family Dinner Project and their own personal experiences, to share strategies for couples. They talk about how to negotiate getting started with a shared meal routine early in a relationship, why it matters, and how eating together regularly can strengthen a sense of teamwork and boost mental health. Moving through the years, Bri and Annie point out that keeping family meals on the calendar can promote marital satisfaction if kids are part of the equation. And as relationships progress, they share tips and ideas for keeping the spark alive no matter how mealtimes change in the face of life's demands.

Key Takeaways:

• Go to 3:39 for Dr. Anne Fishel's thoughts on "What makes family meals so important for couples, given that there are all these other ways they have to connect?"
• Go to 7:00 for a quick overview of the most relevant research into the benefits of family meals for adults, including better conflict resolution and improved mental health
• Go to 13:47 for a discussion of how new couples starting out together can navigate setting up shared meals in a way that benefits them both
• Go to 18:04 for thoughts on how adding babies and toddlers to the mix might change a couple's mealtimes -- and how to preserve your connection
• Go to 24:03 to hear about the "messy middle" of life and how to get out of a dinner rut, keep shared meals on the calendar despite competing priorities, and keep the "spark" alive
• Go to 29:04 for food, fun, and conversation ideas for couples, from ways to use food as a love language to smart in-depth conversation starters and ways to bond over a shared interest during your meals

Related Episodes and Links:

• Episode 5 ("Labor of Love")
• Episode 2 ("Is it the Family, or the Dinner?")
• "Stuck at Home With Your Partner? Look to Retirees to Make it Work"
• "Benefits of Family Dinner for Adults"
• "Family Starts with Two"
• "Just the Two of Us" Newsletter

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It's a New Year, and we're not talking about resolutions. In this episode, Bri and Annie explore the idea of setting intentions for the family dinner table, to help families get the most out of their shared meals. They delve into the recent research on how families adapted their mealtimes during COVID, and how those experiences have shaped attitudes and ideas about eating together ever since. The research shows that what we most often set resolutions around -- nutrition and healthy eating habits -- actually isn't what matters most to us.

What do families want out of their dinners? Relationships, connection, and bonding. Bri and Annie share lots of ideas to help build on those principles, as well as other aspirations individual families might want to pursue. They talk about how to approach the idea of setting an intention or two for your mealtimes this year; how to talk to kids and fellow household adults to get everyone involved in the process; and how to handle a reluctant partner who may not share your goals. They also offer wisdom on what to do with competing priorities, how to get started if you just feel stuck, and how to reframe your thinking around common challenges like picky eating. The episode ends with suggestions for meal planning, theme nights, and some fun activities to help improve your family meals this year.

Like this content? Check out these additional links and related episodes:

• The Family Dinner Project Podcast Episode 5: Labor of Love?
• The Family Dinner Project Podcast Episode 4: Picky or Problematic?
• Dinner and a Movie ideas
• Book-related dinner ideas
• Research Shows Family Dinner Improves Literacy (plus games and conversation starters)
• The Humming Bee Breathing exercise
• The 5,4,3,2,1 Activity
• The Family Dinner Project Podcast Episode 2: Is it the Family, or the Dinner?

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In this episode, Bri and Annie talk about the consequences of the 2024 US Presidential Election on family Thanksgiving and holiday dinner plans. Whether families are planning to spend the day together and try not to talk about politics at all, or are finding themselves in the midst of rupture and canceled plans, there are feelings to sort through and ways to make the day easier for everyone.

Bri and Annie discuss the potential grief of family estrangement; how to keep things polite and positive if there are guests at the table who don't share political views; and strategies for keeping the tension low at a very difficult time. They offer examples to help families plan new and different celebrations if they're not joining the traditional Thanksgiving table this year, and ideas for managing compromise if you're a "small-dose" family or want to see some people, but not others. They talk about navigating hurt feelings, canceled invitations, and setting ground rules for your own celebrations. The episode ends with suggestions for choosing foods this year -- will you go traditional or unique? -- as well as games and conversation resources that could help keep the peace, like Holiday Would You Rather?, The Hat Game, a Thanksgiving Storytelling prompt, and questions about resilience that may resonate this year.

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We talk a lot about the positive aspects of family meals, but in reality, eating dinner together isn't always the safe, warm experience we want it to be. For many people, trauma is an unwelcome guest at the table. To find out why that might be, and how to make dinner feel safer, Bri and Annie talk with therapist, author, and trauma expert Dr. Marti Straus.

Marti begins by explaining that trauma is a response to stressful experiences, not a single event. She distinguishes between what she calls "Big T trauma" and "little t trauma," or a specific very upsetting event (such as a car accident or assault) vs. a series of possibly less noticeable, repeated stressful events over time (such as bullying at school, neglect, often going hungry, etc). Marti stresses that these repeated "little t traumas" can add up to developmental trauma in children, which can then also be compounded by mealtimes where the caregiver who is supposed to provide for the child may be unpredictable, unreliable, or even dangerous.

Marti and Annie both agree, in their roles as therapists, that mealtimes can be especially complex for children with developmental trauma because of the mixed signals -- the conflict between dinner as an inherently nurturing activity, and a parent or caregiver who is not behaving in nurturing ways. The stress of that situation, they say, can follow people into adulthood and make it difficult for parents with their own traumatic histories at dinner to create a safe and welcoming mealtime routine for their own kids. Both share examples and solutions from their own therapy practices with families to help make meals more comfortable and safe for everyone.

Bri also asks Marti for insight into how neurodivergence intersects with trauma at the table. Marti explains that often, the demands of family meals can be harmful or traumatic to a neurodivergent child who is being expected to behave in a more "typical" way. Lack of responsiveness to the child's sensory and behavioral needs can cause developmental trauma. She explains how parents can envision the kind of relationship they want to nurture with their children at the table, and how to co-regulate for more positive meals.

The trio end on recommendations for food, fun, and conversation: Bri suggests a mac and cheese bar to make a familiar comfort food more interesting and varied for the whole family, while Marti offers a quick and easy activity to help transition to the table without anxiety. Annie finishes the episode by encouraging families to talk about what makes us feel comfortable and safe.

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Bri and Annie dive into the difficulties of domestic labor -- who's doing what, who bears the brunt of making family dinners happen, and what can be done about uneven distributions of labor in our households.

Taking on the cultural criticism of family meals as anti-feminist, Annie points out that the role of The Family Dinner Project has always been to try to encourage people not to create perfect, retro-style family meals that require women to spend hours in the kitchen doing all the work. Instead, the goal is to create meaningful and joyful experiences where everyone contributes, and we work towards building families where the kids will grow up with the ability to take ownership of dinner-related tasks -- regardless of gender and outdated expectations.

Bri remembers speaking with fatherhood expert Dr. Anthony Chambers about the shifting roles of men in two-parent households, and she and Annie discuss whether there is a new trend towards men sharing the load. They agree that while the face of domestic labor has changed, and men are definitely contributing more than in generations past, there's still a lot of ground to cover on the invisible labor front. Annie shares thoughts on how couples might navigate discussions around more equitable division of household chores, while Bri points out that help can be found in many places -- kids, friends, neighbors, and creating a broader "village."

They finish the episode by recommending listeners check out this list of "no-fail" dinner ideas that can be delegated to other members of the household; these grocery store scavenger hunts for both younger kids and teenagers; and the graphic on their site, with helpful prompts for couples who want to plan for a more egalitarian household routine.

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On this episode of The Family Dinner Project Podcast, Bri and Dr. Anne Fishel are joined by Dr. Evelyna Kambanis for a deep dive into the world of picky eating, ARFID, eating disorders, and more.

Dr. Evelyna Kambanis is a Clinical & Research Fellow at the Eating Disorders Clinical and Research Program at Massachusetts General Hospital. Her research and clinical interests focus on avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID). She helps walk us through the differences between developmentally normal picky eating, which occurs in most children, and feeding issues that may signal a problem warranting medical help. Evelyna breaks down the clinical definition of ARFID -- Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder -- and how parents can tell when picky eating has become something more concerning. She also helps shed light on the possible red flags parents may see at the dinner table when a child has ARFID or is in danger of developing another type of eating disorder, such as anorexia.

As always, we end the episode with food, fun, and conversation suggestions to help families who may be dealing with ARFID, sensory sensitivities, and other types of feeding challenges at their family dinner tables. The Family Dinner Project's Welcoming Table initiative has plenty of resources to help, but families are also encouraged to reach out with questions or concerns. Families dealing with extreme picky eating may also benefit from Evelyna's suggested resource, The Picky Eaters Recovery Book.

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In Episode 3, "Family Dinner During May Madness," we're talking about one of the busiest times of year - the end of the school year, when family calendars overflow and dinner is the last thing on anyone's mind. Bri and Dr. Fishel chat about some of the concerns with overscheduling, as well as the benefits of allowing kids to explore extracurricular activities and interests, and how this time of year can be an opportunity to look at family time differently.

They also discuss the pressure to do it all and be a perfect parent, and how to start pushing back against the increasing overwhelm, including smart conversation starters to help everyone in the family gauge how they're doing with managing stress. And of course, they share practical tips and ideas to help families get a "family dinner" experience on the busiest nights, whether that's sharing food, fun, and conversation at the local ice cream shop; splitting dinner up into shifts; sharing a snack at a more opportune time of day; or scheduling a family meal in advance so everyone can plan for it.

The episode wraps up with food (make-ahead and freezer friendly meals), fun (a photo caption contest on the go), and conversation ideas (If you were free to do anything you wanted tomorrow, what would you do?).

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