Just under half (41%) of parents in London say they have had more purposeful conversations with their children because of more frequent meals together a report from HelloFresh has revealed – and over half (52%) agree that conversations overall are becoming more meaningful with their children than before because of more time together in lockdown.

Increased access to live global information and a deluge of news and social media feeds has led to a more naturally inquisitive younger generation. The most popular topic in August – September 2020 has been revealed as, unsurprisingly, the global pandemic (50%), but more interestingly mental health (15%) and food poverty (11%) vs 2010s conversation highlights of the royal wedding announcement (23%), the iPad launch (22%) and Justin Bieber ruling pop music(15%).

That’s not to say the younger generation is necessarily more worried and less interested in celebrities and social media, they are just more accepting of previously considered taboo subjects such as mental health and societal issues.

One quarter (25%) of families in London said that other dinner time topics involved discussing the family wellbeing, the future (34%) and life goals (21%). Over one quarter (28%) admitted they feel most comfortable speaking about more meaningful conversations around mealtimes.

The report reveals that children also school their parents too, with (81%) of parents admitting they learnt something new on average up to four times per week. One third (38%) think the dinner table is an extension of the classroom when learning new topics come to mind. Two thirds (68%) of parents in London even admitted that their inquisitive kids have put them on the spot with general knowledge questions that they’ve had to google the answers to more than once.

Thanks to lockdown, almost a third of surveyed parents say they are now able to eat together 6-10 times each week (34%), and as a result, over half (55%) of parents surveyed say they will now consider changing their evening routine once the kids go back to school to make more time to continue this new family bonding experience

When asked why they’ll be changing their routine, almost three quarters (72%) of Londoners said it was because eating together makes them feel closer as a family unit, and more than half (57%) said it’s because they have enjoyed the new conversations that they’ve had with the kids.

Laurent Guillemain, UK CEO at HelloFresh commented: “The HelloFresh Table Matters Report has shown that families have re-connected over the past few months, and that the dinner table isn’t just for meals. It’s a place to come together, learn and have meaningful conversations. With over 30 recipes to select from each week, including familiar family favourites, HelloFresh has a variety of dishes on offer for every dinner time discussion.”

The HelloFresh Table Matters Report is part of an initiative from HelloFresh to encourage meals with meaning at the dinner table. There will be more to follow over the upcoming months.