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Family Fun: An Introduction

To be an effective parent and have a close family, you need to spend quality family time together. This sounds simple enough, but it can get quite difficult when you’re working full-time and your kids have sports, their friends, and part-time jobs of their own to work around. Even though it can be tough to schedule, it’s important for your family to find time to spend together regularly. You might have to get creative with your attempts to spend time together as a family, and it could be challenging, but you'll find that your family will be closer because of it.

Did You Know?

  • A 2006 study showed that kids who ate dinner with their family frequently were much more likely to have high self-esteem, a sense of purpose, and a positive view of the future.1
  • Frequent family dinners have been shown to reduce the likelihood that kids will engage in risky behaviors, including substance abuse, fighting, and illicit drug use.2
  • Having trouble making family dinners happen? Get more ideas >
  • More ideas for fun family activities >
  • Need more time? Easy tips for making family time happen >

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1. Jayne Fulkerson and others, “Family Dinner Meal Frequency and Adolescent Development: Relationships with Developmental Assets and High-Risk Behaviors,” Journal of Adolescent Health 39 (2006): 337-345.

2. Bisakha Sen, “The Relationship between Frequency of Family Dinner and Adolescent Problem Behaviors after Adjusting for Other Family Characteristics,” Journal of Adolescence (2009), doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2009.03.011.