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HomeNewsArchivesSt. Croix Unity Coalition Inc. Announces National Family Dinner Day

St. Croix Unity Coalition Inc. Announces National Family Dinner Day

Sept. 20, 2008 – St. Croix Unity Coalition Inc. encourages its families to celebrate Family Dinner Day on Monday, Sept. 22. This is a national effort to promote parental engagement as a simple, effective way to reduce substance-abuse risk and raise healthier children. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, research in the field of addiction and substance abuse has consistently shown that the more often a child eats dinner with his family, the less likely that child is to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
For Your Information:
· Teens who eat dinner with their parents twice a week or less were four times more likely to smoke cigarettes, three times more likely to smoke marijuana and nearly twice as likely to drink than those who ate dinner with their parents six or seven times a week.
· Teens from families that almost never eat dinner together were 72 percent likelier than the average teen to use illegal drugs, cigarettes and alcohol, while those from families that almost always eat dinner together were 31 percent less likely than the average teen to engage in these activities.
Become a Family Day STAR:
S – Spend time with my kids by having dinner together
T – Talk to them about their friends, interests and the dangers of drugs and alcohol
A – Answer their questions and listen to what they say
R – Recognize that I have the power to help keep my kids substance-free
For additional information, contact Alexis George at 719-9900 or go to: ageorgethevillage@yahoo.com.

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