Family Ties

Family Day Across The USA Slated For September 25th

A family that breaks bread together, sharing more than a meal at the dinner table, is not only a family that stays together, but moreover, the very cornerstone of a connected and concerned community.

That, in a nutshell, is the idea behind Family Day 2006, when families across the nation will sit down at the dinner table -- at the same place and at the same time -- to eat, to talk, to reconnect.

Sure, it may well be a challenge to many of us -- used to "catching a bite" before running off to that soccer game or PTA meeting -- not only to put aside some precious time to convene around the dinner table with the family, but to get the conversation going. Still, having the entire family together, if only for a single meal, makes the effort so worth while.

The talk around that dinner table -- whether about school, work, the Mets clinching the NL East, politics (as in "What has our State Legislator done for us lately?"), or the news of the day -- will, hopefully, spur further conversations (and maybe more meals together), reconnecting family member to family member, and, perhaps (if we're lucky), families to their communities.

Here at The Community Alliance, we're asking families -- parents and kids alike -- to "take the pledge" to participate in Family Day 2006.

Its not only about keeping kids away from drugs and alcohol (although that's an important part of it). Its about keeping the entire clan in sync with one another, and getting a dialogue going to build upon and strengthen those often strained (if not temporarily broken) family ties.

"Too busy" to sit down for dinner with the family? "Too tired" to have a meal together or for "small talk?" Convenient excuses at the dinner table, as much as they are for neglecting to participate in that which is taking place beyond our own front doors. Get over it!

Just as we, as citizens and residents, must become involved and remain engaged in the affairs of both community and government, so too must we, as parents and family units, be engaged and involved in the day-to-day of our children. And it can all begin at and around your dinner table!

Help spread the word about Family Day, bringing families together all over your community. Let's begin to open the lines of communication at home. From there, who knows just how far we may go?
- - -
Family Day was conceived by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University back in 2001.

Click HERE for the 10 Benefits of Frequent Family Dinners.

For more on Family Day 2006, visit CASAFamilyDay.org.