Press
What the press are saying about our 2006 Back To The Table campaign
Daily Mirror - 24 October 2006
50 Ways To Slash Your Grocery Bill: Your kids are more likely to eat what's on their plates if they see you eating it too. A balanced meal inside them means fewer snacks between meals. Back To The Table Week is Oct 16-22, 2006.
Daily Express - 16 October 2006
Modern parents are increasingly prepared to discipline their children Supernanny-style. Tired of bad behaviour and disrespect, they believe being strict can bring positive results, reveals a new survey.
Child psychologist Dr Pat Spungin said: 'There have always been swings in child rearing. In the 1950s we had the parent-centred family. In the 1960s, a more child-centred notion of parenting took over and there seems to be another shift underway now.'
Asked what they could do to improve family life and their children's behaviour, nine out of 10 parents said eating as a family on a regular basis.
London Metro - 16 October 2006
On in three mothers and fathers admits to smacking their offspring a survey shows today. In all, 73 per cent of parents say they are not afraid to discipline children in public...The research carried out by advice website raisingkids.co.uk, was timed to coincide with National Back To The Table Week. The event aims to encourage families to eat together after research showed the practice helps children to develop.
What the press said about the 2005 Back To The Table campaign
BBC Online - February 2006
The parenting organisation Raisingkids is so concerned it is running a Back to the Table campaign to get families eating together again. Dr Pat Spungin, a psychologist and founder of Raisingkids, is convinced of the merits of families eating together to help combat anti-social behaviour.
She said mealtimes provided an important place where parents could pass on positive values on a daily basis.
Sun Online - 20 October 2005
Now Jamie Oliver's got school dinners back on track, the nation is turning its attention to eating at home. With TV as the favourite guest at Britain's dining tables, parenting website Raisingkids.co.uk is encouraging families to share a meal together by launching its national initiative Back To The Table Week. Their survey of over 2,000 families revealed that one-in-five families eat together just once a week or less - with three quarters of them watching television as they eat. So if your usual dinner is with the cast of EastEnders, then ditch the box this week in favour of a family meal.
Yorkshire Evening Post 18 October 2005
It's a sad fact that many families have lost the art of conversation, and do not even take time to catch up over an evening meal any more...Even stopping to chat over a cup of tea can seem an indulgence, and all too often the kids would rather be up in their rooms anyway.
But talking is crucial to a happy, healthy and well-balanced family life. Ignore it and everyone misses out. 'Talk is the glue of family life and if family members don't talk to each other, the bonds between them grow weaker,' says Dr Pat Spungin of parenting website Raisingkids.co.uk. That is why Raisingkids have launched a website www.backtothetable.co.uk to encourage families to share regular meals together. The site is full of useful information and advice about food and nutrition, tips on table-talk, and more.
.and the 2004 Back To The Table campaign
The Guardian - 21/09/04
Once, not so long ago, Britain was a country where families gathered around the table at meal times to eat and talk to each other. But families are now abandoning their dining tables and becoming more like the fictional and lazy Royle Family who eat their meals supine on their sofa with the TV droning on in the background. A survey of parents found that 20% of British families said they sat down to eat together once a week or less frequently. Children often had meals in their bedrooms while watching TV or playing computer games.
The Western Mail 28/09/04
Older readers will no doubt be astonished to hear that modern families, who sit down to eat together at mealtimes, are now such a rarity that it happens just once a week in a fifth of homes. A new survey, published by parenting website www.raisingkids.co.uk reveals that even when families do eat together, 75% of UK families watch TV while they eat.
Scottish Daily Express
We're turning into a nation of couch-potato Royle Families who only eat together on the sofa in front of the TV, according to a new survey.
Evening Standard - 20/09/04
Raisingkids.co.uk is promoting a shared family meals with a Back To the Table campaign starting today. It will offer tips on how to encourage more quality time including setting a realistic target of three to four meals a week.
BBC Parenting Magazine - November 2004
A recent survey has found that one in five UK families eats together only once a week, preferring instead to eat in front of the television The survey by Raisingkids.co.uk is part of its Back To The Table campaign urging families to share more quality time together around the dinner table.
