Mealtime chatter helps boost children's confidence

Talking at mealtimes improves children's communication skills, a new study has revealed.

The poll of 35,000 UK children conducted by the National Literacy Trust has found that kids who sit with families and talk during meals are more confident, the BBC reported.

However, the study, which surveyed kids aged eight to 16, from 188 schools across the UK, suggested that more than one in every four misses out on daily mealtime chats with their families.

It was also found that not sitting down for family meals at all is better for children's confidence than sitting in silence at mealtimes.

The results suggest that 62 percent of kids who talk daily with their families at mealtimes feel confident to speak in front of a group, compared with 47 percent of those who eat in silence and just 52 percent of children who don't sit down for meals.

The study reported that about 87percent of children and young people sit down with their family at mealtimes, but while almost 74 percent of families chat at mealtimes every day, some 7 percent admitted to eating their meals in silence almost everyday.