Frequency of family mealtimes in foster and kinship families

Abstract

Eating meals as a family is connected to positive mental and physical health of children and parents. However, studies in this area are limited to families with biological parents as caregivers. This ignores millions of children in foster and kinship families, many of whom have experienced trauma and may benefit from consistent mealtimes. Using a merger of the 2017–2019 National Survey of Children’s Health, we examined the frequency of family meals between a random sample of children living with a biological parent and those living with foster and kinship families (n = 81,562). We also explored predictors, including child special healthcare needs, of more frequent mealtimes for children living with foster and kinship families (n = 3,358). Results showed that 79 % of foster families ate together most days of the week, and that biological and kin families ate together less frequently. Interaction effects showed foster families caring for children with special needs were at 2.8 greater odds of more frequent mealtimes than children with special needs in kin or grandparent families. Further research is needed to explore how foster parents create the time and space to eat consistent meals, and how those strategies translate to families in the general population.