Moms Want More Family Dinners In 2014

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. - Jan. 8, 2014 - PRLog -- Moms make a lot of New Year’s resolutions around food, but a surprising goal for 2014 is their desire for more family dinners. Over 71% of moms say that a family meal is extremely important and 94% choose dinner as the “together” meal of choice, according to a new survey* by MomTV and Mom Talk Radio.

Despite the often-hectic tasks and timing of getting a nutritious dinner on the table, moms want to preserve family mealtimes as a way to communicate with each other, provide healthier meals and as a positive influence for their children. The survey also reveals the challenges moms face in getting the family to sit down together, along with the importance they place on the family meal.

·      47% of moms don’t know what they are cooking for dinner before noon, 46% frequently don’t know by 4pm;

·      91% of moms see family dinners as a valuable time to bond and 64% view them as effective in keeping children out of trouble;

·      75% say they feel that getting the family to the table is an accomplishment;

·      The top three challenges in getting a family dinner together? Work/career schedules (77%), sports and extracurricular activities (53%) and schoolwork (41%).

·      For those moms who have not decided on a dinner menu in advance, the Internet (56%), cookbooks (51%) and social media (30%) are the top three sources of inspiration.

Mom engagement expert Maria Bailey, a mother of four, host of Mom Talk Radio (http://www.momtalkradio.com) and founder of MomTV.com (http://www.momtv.com), knows firsthand the challenges of scheduling family dinners. “We have six people in our house who are very involved with work, sports, clubs, and let’s not forget social lives,” Bailey says, offering three easy solutions that make dinnertime easy and enjoyable for the entire family:

1.    Set realistic goals. Initially aim for adding one family dinner night each week and stick to the schedule as much as possible;

2.    Consider serving fun, pre-prepared foods that the entire family will enjoy and can be customized to individual tastes, such as Papa Murphy’s Pizza (http://papamurphys.com) that moms can bake at home, or a meal using a pre-cooked deli chicken;

3.    Make conversation cards to make family time more meaningful. Pass out a card to each person with questions like “What superpower would you want and why?” or “What is your favorite movie?” The answers will start interesting conversations and create memories.

Whether it’s a meal made from scratch or ready-made pizza with custom toppings, moms want to feed their families food they will eat that is a healthy choice, too.

For more information on the research or an interview with Maria Bailey, email Maria@bsmmedia.com.

About Maria Bailey
Maria Bailey is the Host of Mom Talk Radio, the only nationally syndicated radio show for moms and the Founder of MomTV.com, a video site for moms with videos created by moms. She is the author of “Trillion Dollar Moms”, “Power Moms” and “The Ultimate Mom Book“. You can follow her on Twitter @MomTalkRadio.

*BSM Media, Inc., the parent company of MomTV and Mom Talk Radio, surveyed 525 moms in the US, with a household of at least one child between the ages of 4 and 17.