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Monday September 22 is Family Day, a day set aside to remind parents to interact with their children in order to prevent drug and alcohol abuse in young people. While it may seem that as parents we shouldn’t need a reminder to engage our children, but according to statistics, we do. Many parents today rarely see their children because of busy work schedules or commitments. Children are also getting busier with school, sports, friends, and other extra curricular activities. Many families pass each other on the way to the shower in the morning, and that is it. Sometimes when parents and their teenage kids do end up talking, it becomes an argument and no meaningful conversation takes place.
We know we are busy, but what are the consequences of all that running around in the long run? Family relationships begin to decline, parents lose the ability to relate to their kids, and kids begin to turn to other things to keep themselves occupied. Drugs and alcohol easily make their way into young people’s lives when parents are no longer watching.
On Family Day, parents are encouraged to do one simple thing in order to curb drug and alcohol use by their children and teens: eat dinner with them. According to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, children who have frequent family dinners are less likely to use drugs and alcohol. In fact, the report says that children who never eat dinner with their families are 61 percent more likely to start smoking or use illegal drugs, and that children who have infrequent family dinners (less than three per week) are two and a half times likelier to have used marijuana and tobacco.
This year CASA celebrates its eighth annual Family Day-A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children. Parents are encouraged to celebrate their family today, and sit down and have a meal together. President Bush, Governors of all 50 states, and more than 800 cities have given their support to Family Day. Celebrities, politicians, and businesspeople are all dedicating this day to family togetherness.
It seems so simple, eating dinner with your family to prevent your kids from trying drugs and alcohol. The truth is, the more time families spend eating dinner together, the more likely parents are to talk with their kids about issues important to them. By sitting down together at the dinner table, parents show their kids that they are available to them, that they care about them, and that their kids can come to them with questions or problems.
This is not an event that should take place only once a year. Families need to regularly eat dinner together or find time to spend together throughout the week. Family Day is just one way to get us off to the right start.
http://casafamilyday.org/familyday/
Metro Drug Commission prepares for Family Day Sept. 22, 2008
