The Secrets To Successful Family Dinners 

Family Day will be celebrated throughout the country on September 22, 2008. If you're not already having dinner with your family regularly, allow the awareness of this day to be a catalyst for more frequent family dinners. Here are a few secrets to making family dinners successful:

• 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.

Tips courtesy of The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University