KEATING URGES PARENTS TO EAT WITH CHILDREN -- FAMILY DAY FIGHTS SUBSTANCE ABUSE

Gov. Frank Keating is joining the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and
Substance Abuse Services in urging parents to celebrate "Family Day: A Day
to Eat Dinner with Your Children" on Monday. Keating is one of 22 governors
proclaiming Sept. 23 as Family Day, an observance sponsored nationally by
The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University
in New York City in an effort to help children grow up drug- and alcohol-free.

Ben Brown, state deputy commissioner for substance abuse services, said
teens who eat dinner with their family six to seven times a week are at
almost half the risk of substance abuse as teens who eat dinner with family
only twice a week.

"As teens get older, they are less likely to have dinner with their family.
This is especially troubling because teen risk of substance abuse increases
by almost 500 percent between the ages of 12 and 16," Brown said. "It is in
these 'dangerous years' that most teens who use alcohol, cigarettes and
marijuana initiate their use. Only 37 percent of teens in grade 12 eat
family dinners, compared with 58 percent of children in eighth grade."

Parents don't need to fix a gourmet meal; takeout pizza will do, he said.

"The real purpose of Family Day is to take time to get to know your
children, to make a commitment to make family dinners a regular part of
their lives," Brown said. "Parents need to realize they are the most
powerful -- and the most underutilized -- resource we have to prevent drug
and alcohol abuse by our kids."

In addition to dining together, other family activities that can reduce the
risk of child and adolescent substance abuse include:

Helping with homework.

Attending religious services as a family and making religion an important
part of children's lives.

Praising and disciplining children when their behavior merits it.

Monitoring television viewing, music purchases and Internet usage.

Establishing curfews and knowing where children are after school and on
weekends.

Sending a clear message of disapproval regarding the use of cigarettes,
alcohol and illegal drugs.

Brown said parents can celebrate Family Day by eating dinner together.
During dinner, turn off the TV and talk and listen to each other. Involve
the entire family in planning and cooking the meal.

Families that can't have dinner together could try eating breakfast
together or engaging in another family activity, he said.

Family that already eat together often, could volunteer to serve a Family
Day meal to children who don't have families, he said.

"Eating dinner as a family may seem like a simple action, but it is one
that can make a world of difference in the lives of young people."

"The real purpose of Family Day is to take time to get to know your
children, to make a commitment to make family dinners a regular part of
their lives."Ben Brown, state deputy commissioner for substance abuse services.