Do You Eat Dinner With Your Children?
Eating dinner together sounds so simple and yet, it is not today’s norm. Why? The answer has something to do with hectic schedules, after school activities and other outside influences that interfere with dinnertime. This reality is most unfortunate because research has shown that the more children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
So welcome to Informed Families’ first drug prevention tool of the school year: Family Day. Family Day is a national effort, developed by the Center for Addiction & Substance Abuse at Columbia University, to encourage family dinners as an effective way to reduce youth substance abuse and other risky behaviors. Join us on Family Day, September 26th and learn how to have fun through simple exercises.
How do you find the time?
A recent New York Times blog, entitled "How Asking 5 Questions Allowed Me to Eat Dinner With My Kids" by Charles Duhigg, offers a surprisingly simple solution to the family dinner problem, which can be applied to almost any issue families face when trying to find time for parent/child engagement.
Duhigg offers the "five whys" solution, suggesting that parents examine why they can't eat dinner with their children by asking "why" five times. For example, the answer to the first "why" might be, "because I don't have time." When Duhigg and his wife asked themselves why they don't have time and three more "whys" after that, they realized that the core issue was that they needed to help the kids get ready for school faster by planning their outfits the night before. Once this problem was solved, more time was discovered and the family now eats dinner together regularly. These five "whys" can be applied to many other family challenges in today's busy world.
Want to make Family Dinner fun & interactive?
Visit our Family Day page to find some really great tools: a Family Day activities guide, a printable dinner menu, easy recipes families can prepare together and a new video to spread the Family Day message. Download them and participate!
Snap a photo during dinner and post it on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram with #FLFamilyDay for a chance to win a $100 Publix gift card.
Make dinnertime an essential part of your family's day. Studies have shown that frequent family dinners, more than 4 times a week, lead to safer, healthier kids. s so family dinners might save your family time and heartbreak in the future. .
Simple things truly make a difference. Sign up and join us for Family Day: Sept 26!
Sincerely,
Peggy