Family Night
Project Full Name Wyoming's First Lady's Family Night
Project Length: 2005-2013
STRONG FAMILIES = A STRONG WYOMING
For nine years, Wyoming’s First Lady teamed up with partners from around the state to present Wyoming First Lady’s Family Night, which was designed to help families make the most of their time together.
Whether you’re cooking a gourmet meal or ordering food from your favorite take-out place, rest assured that what your kids really want at the dinner table is YOU! Family meals are the perfect time to talk to your kids and to listen to what is on their minds. More than a decade’s worth of research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University consistently found that the more often kids eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs.
How does Wyoming Participate?
Here in Wyoming, we were in our ninth year of statewide Family Night participation! Wyoming’s First Lady Carol Mead teamed up with WFF and other partners from around the state to get families together! 2013's booklet included family fun recipes for celebrating Family Night 2013. The booklet included a message from Wyoming’s First Lady encouraging families to stay connected; tips for good communication; parent letter with tips on how to use the booklet and good conversation strategies; characteristics of strong families; and much more. Click here for Wyoming’s News Release on Wyoming First Lady’s Family Night for 2013.
CASA’s 2012 report "The Importance of Family Dinners VI" (click here for Casa 2012 Report) found that compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who had infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) were:
- Twice as likely to use tobacco
- Nearly twice as likely to use alcohol; and
- One and a half times likelier to use marijuana
There was also a connection between the frequency of family dinners and a teen’s access to drugs. Compared to teens who had frequent family dinners, those who had infrequent family dinners were twice as likely to say they can get marijuana or prescription drugs (to get high) in an hour or less.
7 Secrets to Successful Family Dinners
- Start the pattern of family dinners when children are young
- Encourage your children to create menu ideas and participate in meal preparation
- Turn off the TV and let your answering machine answer calls during dinnertime
- Talk about what happened in everyone's day: school, work, extracurricular activities or current events
- Establish a routine to start and end each meal
- Light candles or tell a story after dinner, play a board game or serve dessert to encourage the family to continue the conversation
- Keep conversation positive and make sure everyone gets a chance to speak
Family Night Resources
The 2013 Family Night booklet has 12 pages with family friendly recipes and tips for good communication! WFF has included three fun recipes to try with your family in the booklet. Pick one to add to your meal! This will be followed up with three more inserts that you can download here as they become available throughout the year. Download it for FREE here.