Family Day
Rhonda Gordon, Special to the Gazette
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Summer is gone and fall is officially here. That doesn’t seem possible. September is coming to an end, way too quickly.
I want to invite all of you to participate in Family Day.
Family Day has been celebrated the fourth Monday of September since 2001. That means Family Day is Monday. Family Day is a national movement that reminds parents about the importance of parental engagement in our children’s lives and encourages parents to have frequent family dinners with their children as an effective way to prevent their children from abusing substances. Family Day was created by CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate Association). Research completed by CASA at Columbia University has found consistently that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
Family meals are the perfect setting for a family to sit down together and listen to what’s going on in their lives. It can be surprising what you learn when you take the time to listen. What better place for conversations to start than around the dinner table.
The dinner table doesn’t have to mean the evening meal; breakfast can work, also. The important part of Family Day is the FAMILY. Sit down, have a meal, turn off the television, don’t answer the phone and listen to each other. Find out what is going on in school, on the bus and on your children’s sports team or favorite club.
Research shows that teens are at greater risk of substance abuse as they move from middle school to high school. According to a 2007 study by CASA, those who have family dinner fewer than three times per week are:
• 3.5 times more likely to have abused prescription drugs;
• 3 times more likelyy to have used marijuana;
• 3.5 times more likely to have used another illegal drug;
• more than 2.5 times more likely to have used tobacco; and
• 1.5 times more likely to have used alcohol.
It’s important for parents to stay connected to their children’s lives during this time. A meal is one way this can happen during those years. It is never too late to start a new family tradition. In fact, when teens were asked whether they preferred to have dinner with their families or eat alone, 84 percent said they preferred dinner with their family. Even older teens 16 to 18 years old preferred eating with families (81 percent).
Many of us experienced regular meal times with our families as we grew up. What better skills to pass on to our children than that feeling of security and routine that we experienced.
I know that we are all busy — I am chasing after three children of my own, who all have different ideas of what is fun. It is way to easy for a small thing like meal time to just slip away. Unfortunately meal time is no small thing.
Become a STAR in your children’s lives by taking the Family Star Pledge to:
Spend time with your children having dinner together
Talk to them about their friends, interests and the dangers of drugs and alcohol
Answer their questions and listen to what they say
Recognize that you have the power to help keep your children substance-free!
You may have seen a flyer come home with your child or a recipe card come home about Family Day. Here are the two different recipes that went home with children, or have been given out at different stores around town. They also are available at www.kidsacookin.ksu.edu and can be printed as recipe cards.
Thank you to Emporians for Drug Awareness for always reminding us to put our families first.
Mama’s Chicken and Rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound boneless, skinless
chicken breasts, diced*
2 cups water
1 cup thick and chunky salsa
2 cups Minute Rice
1 can (16 oz.) whole kernel
corn, drained
1 cup shredded cheddar
cheese, divided
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat. Add diced chicken and cook until no longer pink. Add water and salsa to skillet and bring to a boil.
Stir in rice, corn and 1/2 cup cheese. Reduce heat and simmer 5 minutes, covered. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top and serve.
Note: You can substitute a 10-ounce can of drained chicken breast meat. In that case, the first step is to combine canned chicken, water and salsa in a skillet and bring to a boil.
Lasagna Roll-Ups
12 lasagna noodles (8 oz.)
Sauce:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 jar (26 ounces) spaghetti
sauce
Filling:
1 large carton (24 ounces)
cottage cheese
2 cups (8 ounces)
mozzarella cheese,
shredded
2 tablespoons Parmesan
cheese
1 teaspoon garlic powder
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large pot, heat water to boiling and add lasagna noodles. When water returns to boiling, cook noodles 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. 2. Drain noodles and cool in single layer on wax paper or foil to keep from sticking together.
Cook ground beef in skillet and drain well. Add spaghetti sauce and stir.
In a large mixing bowl, combine filling ingredients. Spoon cheese mixture over noodles, followed by sauce. Roll up and place seam-side down in 9x13-inch pan lightly coated with cooking spray.
Cover with foil and bake 30 to 40 minutes or until hot.
Lyon County commissioners will be signing a proclamation Thursday declaring Family Day in Lyon County on Monday. I invite you to join in Family Day and take time out to enjoy the company of the ones you love. Have a meal together, talk, listen and share stories.
• Rhonda Gordon is the Family and Consumer Sciences agent for K-State Research and Extension in Lyon County. For more information on this column, nutrition, food safety, parenting, financial management, health and safety e-mail her at rgordon@ksu.edu or call the Lyon County Extension Office at 341-3220.