Mar 262014
 

 

James Jasper, motor brakeman, and his family e...

(J. Jasper, motor brakeman, and his family eat dinner in their kitchen in home in company housing project. Koppers. Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Haven’t  you ever wished there was ONE single, simple thing that you could do to help your kids be strong and safe?

Most parents worry about how their children will react to alcohol, tobacco and other drugs…. not to mention stressing about grades, higher education and whether or not there’s involvement in some portion of the bullying triangle.

But if there really was one simple action you could take to help your child in ALL of those areas, you’d do it, right?  Of course you would.

It turns out there is such a thing.  It’s called ‘family dinner.’  It turns out that besides building strong bodies dinner together also builds resilience: the skills that make up our ability to bounce back from tough times.  Kids who have those skills tend to make choices that are in their own best interest.   In other words, building ‘bounce back’ helps increase the odds that our children will stay drug-free and stay in school.

In addition, according to drugfree.org, young people whose parents teach them about  risks related to the use of alcohol and other drugs are up to 50% less likely to use than those who do not!

Ready for more good news?  There are actions parents can take to influence their children’s resilience: one of  them is having dinner together as a family.  When we know what is happening in our kids’ lives parents are better able to provide leadership, support and guidance.  A few minutes of quality communication each day is a good start.

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Want more info like this?  Be sure to check out our Resources for Parents page. (And of course, always feel free to suggest the ones you’d like me to add!)

 

 

 

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Apr 062010
 
Mormon Family Dinner

Image by More Good Foundation via Flickr

What if there was a single, simple thing that you could do that would help  your children to:

  • say ‘no’ to alcohol and other drugs
  • remain smoke-free
  • maintain or improve their grades
  • stay in school longer
  • decrease their chances of bullying or being bullied
  • and earn more as adults….

You’d do it, right?  Of course you would.

It turns out there is such a thing.  It’s called ‘family dinner.’  Really.

For many years research has shown that there are a number of actions that parents can take that will increase their children’s ‘resilience.’  (Resilience is a way to describe the process of building skills to endure hardship.  It helps kids to make choices that are in their best interest.)  Simply stated, building resilience is a way to increase the odds that our children will remain drug-free, for example, and having dinner together as a family is one of those ‘resilience-building’ actions!

It turns out that 15 minutes of quality communication each  day is a good start.

The 15+ Make Time to Listen…Take Time to Talk campaign (by the National Mental Health Information Center, SAMHSA Health Information Network) has a goal of providing practical assistance to busy parents trying create high-quality conversations with their children.

It’s a pretty simple concept:  parents who talk with their children about what is happening in their lives are better able to provide them with leadership and guidance.  Time Magazine ran a terrific article on the topic a while back.

Unfortunately, this doesn’t come easily or naturally to everyone.  That’s where Make Time to Listen…. Take Time to Talk comes in.  The site offers ideas and free publications to help you get started.  Lots of them.

Take a look…. you can have fun, too!

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