My tip this week is to

Have family dinners as often as you can! >>Listen

Is your family running around like crazy? Most are, it seems. September 22 was Family Day, the day set aside to have dinner with your family. Were you able to have dinner with your family? Did you even know about Family Day?

Having dinner with your family is one of the most fundamental ways you engage with your kids and show you care. But, not everyone’s schedule allows for this all the time. So, don’t feel guilty if dinners are difficult for your family, just find another way to meet the same objective. This is about family connection.

Research has shown that teens who have frequent family dinners are more likely to get better grades in school, and less likely to smoke or use alcohol or drugs. I think it’s fair to say the measurement that is used in this study that links family dinners to better teen behavior is really about parents spending time with kids. That is what you need to tune into…make sure you are connecting regularly, that your teen knows she can count on spending time with you and that you demonstrate how much you care by your attentiveness. You should know there is a direct correlation between parent engagement and better relationships with your teenagers.

Having regular family dinners is a great goal, and if you can do it, by all means do! But if your family’s schedule makes this difficult, focus on the spirit of this goal….focus on the connection that gets built by “time-in.”

Thanks for subscribing to my Two-Minute Tips for Parenting Teens…….

Til next time…I'm Sue Blaney