![\"Mormon](\"http:\/\/www.andreapatten.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/5138623555_10cc20fdae_m1.jpg\" "\\"Mormon")
<\/a>What if there was a single, simple thing that you could do that would help \u00a0your children to:<\/p>\n
- \n
- say ‘no’ to alcohol and other drugs<\/li>\n
- remain smoke-free<\/li>\n
- maintain or improve their grades<\/li>\n
- stay in school longer<\/li>\n
- decrease their chances of bullying or being bullied<\/a><\/li>\n
- and earn more as adults….<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
You’d do it, right? \u00a0Of course<\/em> you would.<\/p>\n
It turns out there is<\/em> such a thing. \u00a0It’s called ‘family dinner.’ \u00a0Really.<\/p>\n
For many years research has shown that there are a number of actions that parents can take that will increase their children’s ‘resilience.’ \u00a0(Resilience is a way to describe the process of building skills to endure hardship<\/a>. \u00a0It helps kids to\u00a0make choices that are in their best interest.) \u00a0Simply stated, building resilience is a way to increase the odds that our children will remain drug-free, for example, and having dinner together as a family is one of those ‘resilience-building’ actions!<\/p>\n
It turns out that 15 minutes of quality communication each \u00a0day is a good start.<\/p>\n
The 15+ Make Time to Listen…Take Time to Talk<\/em> campaign (by the National Mental Health Information Center, SAMHSA Health Information Network) has a goal of providing practical assistance to busy parents trying create high-quality conversations with their children.<\/p>\n
It’s a pretty simple concept: \u00a0parents who talk with their children about what is happening in their lives are better able to provide them with leadership and guidance. \u00a0Time Magazine ran a terrific article on the topic a while back.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, this doesn’t come easily or naturally to everyone. \u00a0That’s where Make Time to Listen…. Take Time to Talk<\/em> comes in. \u00a0The site offers ideas and free publications to help you get started. \u00a0Lots of them.<\/p>\n
Take a look…. you can have fun, too!<\/p>\n
- and earn more as adults….<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
![\"Enhanced](\"http:\/\/www.andreapatten.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/zemified_h2.png\")
<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"