September 27, 2004 is Family Day – A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children. It is a national effort to promote family dinners as an effective way to reduce substance abuse among children and teens. Family Day promotes regular family activities to encourage parent-child communication, reminds us all of the value of parental engagement and encourages parents to make family dinners a regular feature of their lives.

Hectic work schedules, after-school activities and time with school friends often interfere with dinnertime. Yet research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University consistently finds that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.

Family Day is celebrated on the fourth Monday in September and emphasizes the importance of regular family activities. It encourages Americans to make family dinners a regular feature of their lives. Parental engagement is the single most potent weapon in preventing substance use and abuse among youth!

Please visit www.FamilyDayPledge.com and pledge to have dinner with your family on September 27th! Help CASA, their sponsors and partners reach the goal of having one million families dining together on Family Day!

Posted by Susan at 9/26/2004 02:18:57 PM | Link

 
Dr. Phil has a new book titled Family First: Your Step-by-Step Plan for Creating a Phenomenal Family and a Dr. Phil Primetime Special: Family First will be aired Wed. Sept 22 on CBS.

He has a nice title to his book too "Family First" - pretty close to our book Putting Family First; Successful Strategies to Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World.

The content of his book also addresses many of the same topics as we have. I may not always agree with Dr. Phil’s approach, but his general message is good. His book is based on Five Factors for creating a family where every member is a star in their own right.

Factor 1: Create a Nurturing and Accepting Family System.
Factor 2: Promote Rhythm in Your Family Life.
Factor 3: Establish Meaningful Rituals and Traditions.
Factor 4: Be Active in Your Communication.
Factor 5: Learn How to Manage Crisis.

Tune in to CBS on Wednesday night to see what advice Dr. Phil gives to families and celebrity parents.

Posted by Susan at 9/19/2004 02:48:55 PM | Link

 
On Monday, September 13th, the Wayzata School Board unanimously passed a resolution stating:
WHEREAS: All of the families in the Wayzata Public Schools community will benefit from one evening during the school year that is set aside where we strongly recommend there be no homework, no meetings, no practices and no organized activities.....We, the School Board of the Wayzata Public Schools, Independent School District 284, do hereby recognize Monday, March 7, 2005, as PUTTING FAMILY FIRST NIGHT.
We sincerely appreciate the support of our School Board and look forward to many more endorsements from our faith communities, businesses, sports and civic organizations. Stay tuned for more information!

Posted by Barbara at 9/16/2004 06:51:03 AM | Link

 
Miriam Meyers August 21 article titled Show up for dinner – and Life is in response to the article Pass the Beans and Well Being

In summary:

• Teenagers admit they would eat better if they ate with their parents more often, resulting in better nutrition and eating habits.
• Time spent at the table correlates positively with young children's vocabulary and performance on academic achievement tests
• Meals provide a setting for children to learn manners and consideration for others
• People tend to feel better at mealtimes, making meals particularly promising times for families to be together

If you aren't sharing regular meals with your family, the beginning of the school year is a good time to get started. For tips on how to get started, visit our It's Dinner Time page.

Posted by Susan at 9/01/2004 09:52:01 AM | Link