By tradition, family meals are seen as a cornerstone in family life, an arena for child socialization, and for building and confirming intimate bonds between family members. In public debate, the fate of family meals has been a concern, as, in modern times, family members increasingly spend their time outside the household in separate spheres of work, school, and institutions. However, empirical research shows that also in current modern households, family meals are a priority. Still, the way family meals are practiced may have undergone change.

This chapter discusses family meals as a proper context for eating in families. It also presents an analysis of the frequency and conduct of family meals in modern households. The analysis was conducted in Denmark, an affluent country with high female participation in the workforce. The data come from a project on modern meal patterns that is based on almost identical surveys conducted in 1997 and 2012 in four Nordic countries.