In the security of a stable family, children find the emotional grounding, social connection, and the inner strength they need to thrive. When family bonds are nurturing, this stability can strengthen the broader community.

Since Utah is known as such a family-focused state, there is an assumption that we might rank higher than other states in the metrics that make up what is called “family health.” Well, it is true on the one hand but not on the other–it is a mixed bag.

A few months ago, the Utah Foundation released a report titled “Households and Heritages: How Family Health Hooks into Social Capital.” Some of the results didn’t surprise me, while several were alarming. As part of their Social Capital Index project, the Utah Foundation measured family health according to the following seven indicators:

• Share of adults aged 35 to 64 who are currently married.
• Share of births to married women.
• Number of adults per household.
• Share of children aged five and under who are read to every day.
• Time spent on electronic devices by children from six to seventeen.
• Share of families eating a meal together daily.
• Time spent with family while eating, exercising, or socializing.

Overall, Utah ranks incredibly high compared to other states (second-highest in the nation). However, we have fallen dramatically since 2013. In fact, we have had the fourth-largest drop in the nation. The first three indicators focused on the strength of family structure, and those results were not surprising, as the Utah Women & Leadership Project just published our own report titled “Utah Women and Fertility: Trends and Changes from 1970–2023.” We continue to score high on the proportion of currently married adults (top), the share of births to married women (top), and the number of adults per household (third).

The last four indicators focused on the quality of family ties — the metrics I found most alarming: these four indicators place Utah at or below average. We used to be high (or low depending on the metrics) and have seen significant drops or increases during the past decade. However, the downward trend is real.

First, the importance of reading to your children has been emphasized for decades. Research continues to find that it strengthens their language skills, enhances cognitive development, increases emotional intelligence, encourages curiosity, lays the foundation for lifelong learning skills and habits, and more. The results of this indicator surprised me. Utah used to outpace the nation, but by 2019 we had dropped to the 10th lowest in the nation. Although there was a temporary jump during the pandemic (25th), by 2023 we had declined again and ranked 34th in the nation.

Second, high levels of screen time for children (TVs, computers, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles) have been linked to negative outcomes. Research has found that too much screentime can lead to lower grades in school, reading fewer books, less time with family, sleep and mood problems, poor self-image and body image issues, and much more. Utah children used to have lower levels of screentime compared to kids in other states, but Utah has caught up with the nation in terms of children, with four or more hours of screen time daily. Increases during the pandemic have stayed stable. When habits are formed, it is hard to shift.

Third, 20 years ago I did extensive qualitative research with U.S. women governors and university presidents, and a common theme in those in-depth interviews was the powerfulness of the dinner table conversation. Most of them found their voices and gained their passions because of the open and engaging dinner table conversations they experienced. Research has found that eating dinner together offers our children significant benefits in all domains (emotional, physical, social, and academic). Some experts say that eating together is one of the most impactful daily rituals for healthy development.

Bad news again. According to the Utah Foundation, in 2011 Utah was one of the best states in terms of families eating dinner together. Yet, by 2019 we had fallen behind the national average. Of course we jumped back up during the pandemic, but now we are among the lowest-performing states on this metric.

Fourth, although we used to spend more time with family, at the present time Utahns spend less time with their families (such as eating, exercising, socializing) than the nation more generally. Utah ranks in the lower half of states. As you can guess, spending time as a family strengthens a child’s overall health and well-being, fosters resilience and identity, and increases emotional bonds.

This has been useful information for me as a grandmother. Yesterday, I helped my daughter and her three children (two-year-old twins and a six-year-old daughter). The first thing they do when I’m around is to grab books for me to read to them. And more reading means less screentime! I need to continue this practice and add more healthy traditions to my visits.

Let’s not get depressed about our decline in social capital. Let’s just do better for our children and grandchildren. In so many ways, Utah is a great place for families, but let’s not lose our edge of providing quality learning and growth opportunities at home for our children. We need to continue to put our families first!

Susan R. Madsen is a Professor of Organizational Leadership in the Jon M. Huntsman School of Business at Utah State University and the founding director of the Utah Women & Leadership Project.