More U.S. families are making a point of sitting down for dinner together, a trend that pleases youth drug-prevention experts who see such family connections as a buffer against addiction problems.

The New York Times reported April 8 that a national survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA) found that 58 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds said they ate dinner with their families at least five times weekly, up from 47 percent in 1998.

"People are really starting to understand that this is an important thing," said CASA spokesperson Richard Mulieri. "Families that do have dinner together often are families whose parents are fully engaged with their kids. We're certainly not back to 'Leave It to Beaver' and 'Father Knows Best,' but it's heading in that direction."

"There's definitely an awareness that was not there a few years ago," added Miriam Weinstein, author of "The Surprising Power of Family Meals: How Eating Together Makes Us Smarter, Stronger, Healthier and Happier." "All the factors that have been working against family dinners are still in full force, but it's very much a subject on people's minds."

Researchers say that youths who regularly eat with their families are less likely to misuse alcohol and other drugs, have less stress, eat better, and get better grades in school. CASA has sponsored a campaign to get every family in the U.S. to eat dinner together on the fourth Monday of September. The makers of Crisco have sponsored a "Family Dinner Challenge" that awards a $10,000 prize for the best video of a family dinner, and cable networks have urged families to eat together.

Parents say coordinating family meals in the 21st Century takes some doing, especially when both parents are busy professionals and kids are busy with school and social activities.

"We try to have dinner together every night, and sometimes that means not eating until 9 o'clock," said Jean Tatge, vice president for development at the Municipal Art Society in Manhattan, who has two sons ages 12 and 13. "But I think it's really important. We always have candlelight. It sets the mood and calms everyone down."

New Jersey parent Marcia Marra has organized local family nights in Ridgewood since 2002, getting local sports leagues, schools, and other groups to suspend activities to give families a chance to connect. She has since sent out hundreds of information kits to other communities seeking to replicate the initiative.