Board of Education Endorses 2006 Family Day

Posted August 25, 2006
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September 25, 2006 Set Aside as Day to Promote Family Meals

The Sacramento County Board of Education has passed a resolution proclaiming September 25, 2006 as Family Day: A Day To Have Dinner With Your Children.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University created the event in 2001, as a national effort to promote family dinners as an effective way to reduce substance abuse among children and teenagers. Family Day is celebrated on the fourth Monday in September.

"It's important that parents realize that by sitting down and having meals with their children that they will get to know their kids better," said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools. "Studies show that kids from hands-on families are at lower risk for smoking, drinking or using illegal drugs."

Family Day emphasizes the importance of regular family activities and encourages Americans to make family dinners a standard feature in their lives. A decade of CASA research has consistently shown that parental engagement is the single most effective weapon in preventing substance use and abuse among youth.

In 2005, the President, 47 governors and more than 500 mayors and county executives across the country proclaimed Family Day.