A Little Something to Be Thankful For...

First, let me begin this week’s edition of the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey Blog by wishing all of our regular readers and subscribers a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families! Tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of New Jersey families are going to be sitting down to dinner together to reflect on what they are most thankful for. We sincerely hope that, among those things, is the continued health and safety of your loved ones.

But how can you guarantee their health and safety for the future? It seems like a difficult questions, but you are already well on your way to doing it tomorrow.

Our annual Parent Tracking Survey for 2014 indicated that about 7 in 10 parents report having family meals with their children at least five days a week or more. Why is this number significant? Because of those families, an overwhelming 97% say that these meals lead to a constant conversation with their kids. As we’ve said many times before, families who converse together, tend to have children who are far less likely to fall into substance abuse. Eating dinner every night provides the perfect opportunity to do just that.

Are you concerned that perhaps you aren’t eating together as a family as often as you should? It’s understandable. But rest assured because our studies also indicate that a simple conversation with your kids for 15 minutes a day is enough to open the channels of communication with them. Our hope is that families who are communicating will be able to relay the dangers of substance abuse to their kids effectively and in ways they are comfortable with. Or better yet, your kids will come to you.

From our family to yours, we wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and may this be source of continued family meals and continued conversation.

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