We spend a lot of time writing about the importance of early intervention, research-based practices, proven curriculums, and public policies. But, there is another building block of early learning: the family dinner.

Research suggests that children who regularly eat meals with their families reap a lot of benefits, including fewer behavioral problems and better performance in school, Child Trends reports.

The good news is parents are doing a pretty good job gathering their families for dinner during the first five years of their children’s lives – 63 percent of children in this age range eat meals with their families six or seven times a week, according to a fact sheet by the group.

Connections to early learning are relatively obvious. For example, parents who regularly eat meals with their kids can check on their cognitive and social development.

We know that shared meals do more than satisfy appetites. Family meals demonstrate and build connectedness, as family members use this opportunity to report on their recent activities; to share troubles and triumphs, big and small; to discuss current events; and to teach, plan, laugh, and dream together.

Numerous studies have shown that children and adolescents who eat meals frequently with family members experience better outcomes than their counterparts who do so only infrequently or not at all. These associations hold up even after taking account of other child and family characteristics, including even other forms of family togetherness.

– “Eat and Be Merry … Together at the Dinner Table,” Trend Lines. 1/24/11.

Amid building quality rating systems, universal pre-kindergarten and better professional development – all key elements of a better early learning system  – we should remember the basic family meal is another.

The State of the Union and Early Learning: President Barack Obama delivered his fourth state of the union last night and Early Ed Watch has a good review of what he said about education.

He “didn’t mention early childhood education, making this the first Obama State of the Union to neglect the issue,” Early Ed Watch reports, but there are other important elements to review.