Life as a middle schooler can be stressful as your child navigates an increasingly complex social world and a progressively more challenging academic environment. A 2013 study published in the "Journal of Adolescent Health" found that regular family dinners improve mental health in adolescents and that the more frequently these meals occur, the greater the benefits. By spending regular time with your child, you could help reduce stress and anxiety and decrease the emotional turmoil that is so often a part of middle school life.
Families who have family nights show markedly improved communication, which is a key for well-being in middle school. Middle schoolers who have strong communication with their parents can rely on their parents when they get in trouble rather than deferring to peers. A 2013 study published in the "Journal of Adolescence" found that regular family time was strongly correlated with decreased parent-child conflict and better communication. Adolescents who regularly had family meals reported that they spent more than half of the meal talking to their parents.
Risk-taking behavior such as smoking, drinking or having sex often begins in middle school and parents are often frustrated by their children's increasingly secretive behavior. According to psychotherapist Tracy Lamperti, however, family nights are correlated with a decrease in risk-taking behavior. Children whose parents have regular family nights show less violent behavior, less high-risk sexual behavior and less substance abuse than children who get no such time.
Regular family time can lead to better grades, according to Lamperti. Children whose parents spend regular time with them are more likely to get good grades, perhaps because they can solicit parental input and because parents can make sure they're keeping up with their academic responsibilities. The stress-relieving effects of family nights may also make it easier for middle schoolers to focus on school.
Some schools plan family nights during which parents attend their child's classes, learn about course material or bring the students with them to participate in shared projects. Family nights that involve both parents and their children offer many of the same benefits as home-based family nights, including improving communication and closeness. Family nights that parents attend on their own improve parental involvement in school, which is strongly correlated with student success, according to a 2013 article published in "Professional School Counseling."