AP Poll: Family Dinner Survives, With Distractions

CALVIN WOODWARD

WASHINGTON (AP) — Pass the gravy — plus the phone and the remote control. It's dinnertime in America.

Between the blare of the TV, the ring of the phone and Junior texting his buddies under the table or from the couch, the modern dinner comes with a heaping helping of distracting bells and whistles, an Associated Press-iVillage Food poll found.

Yet the sit-down, home-cooked family meal is an enduring tradition. And not just on Thanksgiving or other special occasions.

Most nights, most families manage to eat together, the survey found.

Democrats and Republicans do. Devout churchgoers and never-goers do. Childless families and those with kids are about equally apt to have a regular family meal. So are families from the suburbs and the country.

Altogether, more than 60 percent of those who live with families said they sat down with family for dinner at least five nights in the past week. Home-cooked meals were the norm, not just takeout and the like.