Summary: We discuss the importance of Family Dinner, the Over-scheduled Family, and ways to get the food on the table with less stress. We have more giveaways this week and we are asking for your input as we discuss these topics. If you have had experiences that you want to share, get ready to call in. READ on for Coupon Code to Save 30% off on Sign A Lot DVDs! Importance of Family Dinner Ken Patey is the father of 11 children and has traveled and lived in Canada, the United States, England, and the Middle East. Ken is the founder of GrowthClimate Therapy Services. Check out GrowthClimate to find out more about the amazing services that they offer to families and individuals. They have amazing online resources for family and personal growth. A Harvard study, of 65 children over 8 years, found that family dinners were the activity that most fostered healthy child development. Kids who eat family dinner are: Less likely than other kids to have sex at young ages Less likely to get into fights Less likely to be suspended from school At lower risk for thoughts of suicide 20% less likely to drink, smoke, or use illegal drugs (Children who do not eat dinner with their families are 61% more likely to use alcohol, tobacco, or illegal drugs) Additionally, they Have more healthy eating habits overall, even when not at home Consume more vegetables, fruit and juice, less soda, eat less fatty foods and receive higher amounts of fiber, minerals, and vitamins essential to the body Score better on tests (results crossed racial lines and were a greater indicator than whether the child was in a one or two-parent family) Have better language skills (mealtime is an opportunity to hear more spoken language and process adult conversations) Have more parent-child conversation Overscheduled Families Stacey: Last year was probably the busiest year of my life. Growing up I had piano, dance, violin, voice, acting, church activities, soccer, volunteer and retail jobs, and participated in 4 AP high school courses at once, not to mention that I was the eldest of ten children requiring a lot of responsibility at home. BUT, all that considered, I was still more BUSY last year, as a full-time at home mother, than I was as a younger person. How can this be possible, you might wonder? Well, each of my oldest seven children was involved in at least one music class, some of them two. Each of my three girls had dance for a total of five classes/ week between them. My four oldest boys each had a sport, some of them more than one, and all of the children had church activities ranging from scouts every week, to big events that were more quarterly. Most of them also participated in 4-H after school classes on various days and of course, my two in Jr. High were in advanced classes that required more than average homework and lots of ferrying to the university library. When multiplied, that equals more than 20 extra-curricular activities per week! I should mention also, that I myself taught a volunteer chorus class at their elementary school which I did in the morning before school started! This was twice a week and made our early mornings very hectic, what with the baby only 9 months old at the time. My husband, bless his heart, was always kind to help me out of a jam or to drive various carpools or what not when he could, but he works full time and is trying to finish a PhD on the side, while also fulfilling busy church assignments and random extra projects for his work. We flew through that school year, and when summer finally came, I said enough is enough. I realized that my family needed more TIME to connect, to REFLECT, to ENJOY life. I felt stress from my little ones, and I was definitely not a CALM person most of the time. Today we are going to talk about OVERSCHEDULED family life. What is it? Why is it harmful? What can we do about it? And Why should we bother to change this rapidly popular lifestyle trend? Later on today we will have ex[...]
