What your kids really want at the dinner table is you

Monday, Sept. 27, is a day to celebrate something very special — your family! (Of course celebrating your family the other 364 days of the year is a good idea, too.)

It’s the 10th anniversary of “Family Day — A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children.” Celebrated annually the fourth Monday in September, the day emphasizes the importance of family dinners.

Over the past 16 years, The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse  at Columbia University in New York City, surveyed thousands of American teens and their parents to identify factors that increase or decrease the likelihood of teen substance abuse. They have found that a child who gets through age 21 without smoking, using illegal drugs or abusing alcohol is virtually certain never to do so. And, (no surprise) they’ve also learned that parents have the greatest influence on whether their teens will choose to use.

It’s not surprising either to discover that frequent family dinners really do make a difference. Their surveys consistently found that the more often children have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs, and that talking around the dinner table is one of the strongest tools parents have to raise healthy, drug-free children because it is an opportunity to find out what is going on in their lives.

CASA has created a Family Day website that is well worth a visit. In addition to resources for parents such as statistics on the value of eating dinner together and how to raise drug-free kids, there are conversation starters, a placemat to color, children’s word games, a weekly menu planner and monthly family fun challenge board. Easy recipes for “Taco Casserole,” “Grilled Salmon with Citrus-Dill Butter,” “Steamed Green Beans and Mushrooms,” “Chicken Broccoli and Rice Bake” and “Szechwan Beef Stir-Fry” are also included.

You can even listen to New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan talk with Joseph Califano, Jr., CASA founder and chairman. CASA research additionally points to the fact that teens who have frequent (five to seven times per week) family dinners are more likely to attend religious services weekly (four or more times a month) compared to teens who have infrequent family dinners. Regular religious service attendance is associated with lower rates of smoking, drinking and drug use, as well.

There’s no doubt about it — eating dinner together makes a difference in people’s lives and relationships. It binds families together, keeps kids out of trouble and provides a chance to pass along values and expectations. Eat together as often as you can — whether your meal consists of hotdogs and chips or turkey with all the trimmings — ultimately, you’re not only creating a better world for yourself and your own children — but for everyone. CJK