Is the Family Dinner Going Extinct?

There's no excess of time in the Halliday household.

Dad Mark spends at least 60 hours a week operating his growing contracting business.

Mom Sharla is busy organizing her local Mothers of Preschoolers group and caring for newborn Sydney.

Even 5-year-old Emalee finds herself occupied with preschool, dance and gymnastics classes.

But, no matter how busy they get, the Highlands Ranch family stops at dinnertime every day to sit down to a family meal.

"We talk about the highs and lows of the day," Sharla said. "It's just a really important time for us to sort of regroup."

The Hallidays are a rarity these days. As families become increasingly busy, family dinners - and family time in general - are being thrown by the wayside.

According to statistics, fewer than one-third of American children, on any given day, will sit down to dinner with both of their parents.

The trend has many concerned. Studies have shown that regular family dinners benefit children and teens in a variety of ways.

According to Harvard Medical School, children who eat with their family have a 15 percent lower chance of being overweight. And a recent study by Columbia University found children and teens who have regular family dinners are less likely to use drugs and alcohol and more likely to earn good grades in school.

Sue Coffey, a counselor at Littleton's Believing in Kids and Families, says about 80 percent of her clients are having problems because their families are over scheduled and not spending enough time together.

"People have all these balls in the air, and eventually they're going to drop one," Coffey said. "If one of those balls happens to be your family's relationship, it can cause problems."

The busy epidemic

Signs of a busy lifestyle are all over the Halliday's house.

Mark's bike hangs in the garage gathering dust; its tires are flat. He just hasn't had time to ride it lately.

The plant on Sharla's front porch has dried up and died. Nobody ever had time to water it.

And, despite Mark's contracting skills, most of the house looks the same as when the family moved in several years ago. It's awaiting the remodeling work that still hasn't happened.