This October, be sure to schedule plenty of time for family meals. Recent research from Harvard indicates that families that eat together are twice as likely to eat the daily recommended servings of fruits and vegetables as those who do not. While nutritious food is important, children and teenagers report that what they like about family meals is the mealtime conversation. They like having time to share, find out what others have been doing, and to laugh.

If your mealtime is too quiet, don't turn on the TV. Here are some conversation starters to help spark fun mealtime conversations. Have each person at the table answer the same question:

• Describe your dreamjob.
  
• If you owned a store, what would you sell?
  
• What food would you never give up eating?
  
• What skill do you have that nobody knows about?

For more conversation starters and mealtime tips, read Putting Family First: Successful Strategies for Reclaiming Family Life in a Hurry-Up World or check out our links page.

Check back each week in October for new ideas on how to reclaim and make the most of family meals. If you would like to distribute a flyer for your community, download the October flyer (full-size or a smaller, 600 pixels wide version).

Posted by Susan at 9/29/2003 09:33:38 AM | Link

 
This is a reminder that Monday, Sept. 22 is Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children.


Download a larger version of the PFF Family Day flyer (600 pixels wide or full size) to distribute to your school, church, or community. )

For some of us, it is already a priority to eat family meals together, but for others, it is a struggle. Mark your calendars, and join the nation by celebrating and reclaiming the honored family tradition of enjoying a meal and conversation at home this coming Monday, September 22.

For more details on Family Day, visit the CASA site. Visit our It's Dinnertime page or our Links page for conversations starters and mealtime tips.

Posted by Susan at 9/17/2003 06:20:21 AM | Link

 
Sent to me from CASA. See the full report.

September 2, 2003

Dear Friend:

Here is a copy of the most recent report of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University: The Importance of Family Dinners. This report is part of the launch of Family Day: A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children to be celebrated on September 22, 2003. The report finds that the more often children have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs. A troubling finding of the report is that from ages 12 to 17, the proportion of teens who have regular family dinners drops by 50 percent as their substance abuse risk increases sevenfold.

It is my pleasure to report that President George W. Bush has declared September 22, 2003 to be Family Day. We are also launching a new public service awareness campaign for Family Day, including television spots featuring Former First Lady Barbara Bush--and her son the President--and radio spots featuring actress Jamie Lee Curtis as well as subway and bus posters and movie theatre slides promoting Family Day.

To view this report and for more information about Family Day, please visit our website.

Sincerely,

Joseph A. Califano, Jr.

Posted by Susan at 9/05/2003 03:34:14 PM | Link

 
Summer vacation is now gone and staying organized and being on schedules will be the norm for most families.

We have added two new categories to our website: Family Events Calendar and Links pages. You will find lots of resources to help keep your family in balance this coming school year.

Mark your calendars for September 22 and celebrate Family Day- A Day to Eat Dinner With Your Children. The dinnertime conversations are always lively the first few week of school.

Posted by Susan at 9/02/2003 02:17:34 PM | Link