Family Dinner Routine More Common in Hispanic and Immigrant Families

Family dinners have long been considered a healthy tradition and new U.S. Census Bureau data show that Hispanic and immigrant parents are more likely than their non-Hispanic and native-born counterparts to follow the cherished ritual.

As the nation celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, we show trends in parental involvement among Hispanic families.

Frequent family meals have been linked with many positive youth outcomes including healthy weight, improved school-performance and fewer risky behaviors (like alcohol or tobacco consumption), in addition to improved family functioning.

Mealtime can also serve as models of healthy eating, such as more fruits and vegetables, and open communication between family members potentially improving parent-child relationships.

Overall, U.S. parents have been highly engaged with children for decades. According to Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) data, more than four in five children ate dinner with their parent at least five days a week from 1998 to 2021. In fact, the proportion of parents who frequently had dinner with their children increased to 85% in 2020, most likely due to COVID-19 pandemic-related shutdowns and quarantines.

This article uses new data from the 2021 SIPP as well as from earlier years (2018-2020) to explore family interactions among two groups hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic: Hispanic and immigrant populations.

Family is a commonly held value among Hispanic groups which is often studied by the term familismo. Extensive research shows Hispanics have a strong commitment towards the collective over the individual. Examples include an emphasis on family closeness, respect for authority, geographic proximity, and valuing the nuclear and extended family. Frequently shared meals may be another sign of strong Hispanic family ties.

In 2018, 87% of Hispanic parents shared frequent meals with their children, compared with 83% of non-Hispanic parents and 84% of all parents (estimates for non-Hispanic and all parents were not statistically different from each other). Meals and dinners are used interchangeably in this story.

In fact, every year from 2018 to 2021, a higher proportion of Hispanic parents had frequent dinners with their children than their non-Hispanic counterparts.

Hispanic families faced common mealtime challenges such as busy work schedules and use of electronics like TVs and mobile phones. Also the COVID-19 pandemic took a toll on Hispanic families, who suffered job and wage losses and disproportionate rates of sickness and death. Despite these obstacles, however, Hispanic families continued to make time to share meals together.

In 2021, 90% of Hispanic parents shared frequent meals with their children, compared with 86% of non-Hispanic parents and 87% of all parents (non-Hispanic and all parents were not statistically different from each other).

In 2021, Hispanic parents made up almost a quarter (23%) of all reference parents.

As obesity rates continue to increase among the Hispanic population, the positive role of shared mealtimes is becoming increasingly important for children’s nutrition.

When people leave their home country, they usually bring their traditions, values and beliefs to the places where they settle. Immigrant groups value family in distinct ways than native groups which may shape behaviors such as the frequency of shared mealtimes. SIPP data show that most immigrants have an established family routine of frequent shared meals that persisted through 2021 despite high rates of Covid-19 cases.

In 2021, 89% of foreign-born parents shared frequent meals with children compared with 86% of native-born parents and 87% of all parents (estimates for native-born and all parents were not statistically different from each other).

The pattern has been similar since 2018. A higher percentage of foreign-born parents (88%) than native-born parents (83%) shared frequent dinners with children, a gap of 5 percentage points.

Immigrant parents made up over a quarter (26%) of all reference parents in 2021.

Migration is central to the experiences of the Hispanic population in the United States. In 2018, people born in Latin America and the Caribbean made up half (50%) of the total foreign-born population in the United States.

The continued flow of these new arrivals has contributed to the growth of the Hispanic population, its connections to origin countries and the ongoing redefinition of Hispanic identity.

In 2021, Hispanic people accounted for 50% of immigrant reference parents. And among Hispanic parents, over half (57%) were foreign born. In other words, there was a significant overlap between the Hispanic and immigrant parenting communities.

Hispanic foreign-born parents also frequently had dinner with their children in 2021: 89% compared with 87% of all parents. 

The SIPP is a nationally representative, longitudinal survey administered by the Census Bureau that provides comprehensive information on the dynamics of income, employment, household composition and government program participation.

More information is available on the SIPP webpage. Technical documentation and more information about SIPP data quality are on the SIPP Technical Documentation webpage. The estimates presented here are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.