Advertiser Links

Articles
Archives
 

Best for
Families

Calendar

FAMILY Favorites

Healthy
Kids

Places
To Go

Resources

What's
Happening

First there was Mother’s Day. Then came Father’s Day. Finally there is a movement to honor America’s children. On Sunday August 1st, the nation will celebrate the 4th annual National KidsDay. Spearheaded by the 3.6 million member Boys & Girls Clubs of America, in collaboration with KidsPeace, National KidsDay is an emerging new national day observed on the first Sunday of each August, with national, local and personal celebrations taking place across the country. The goal of the day is to honor, celebrate and acknowledge kids through the gift of meaningful time.

Meaningful time is time considered engaging, important and enjoyable by both adults and children. The KidsDay initiative aims to not only encourage meaningful time, but to create a forum, via local events across the nation, where parents, caregivers and mentors can play, interact and inspire the children in their lives. “Every adult who spends time in a child’s life must understand the critical role they play in that child’s emotional and psychological development. Spending meaningful time with kids boosts their self-confidence and self-esteem and contributes to their becoming healthy, productive and caring human beings,” says Roxanne Spillet, President of Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Research shows that when adults spend meaningful time with kids, it helps them develop a positive self-image and a sense of belonging, usefulness, and purpose. The Families and Work Institute’s study, “Ask the Children,” found that while children are happy with the amount of time their parents spend with them, they wish the time together was not rushed, but focused in rich and shared activities. In response to this research, a study was released in July 2003, called the First Annual Meaningful Time Check-up on US Children and Families. The study found the following:

• Almost all parents and other child caregivers (94%) say they see a relationship between the amount of meaningful time adults spend with children and major issues facing youth today, such as discipline problems, youth violence, substance abuse and other dangers.
• With regard to children’s physical safety, 49% of American parents have failed to talk to their children in the last year about sexual pressures and sexual activity. Nearly a quarter said they have not talked to their kids about drugs, tobacco, and alcohol. And some six million households have never talked about a specific emergency plan in the event of a fire in the home or children getting lost.
• More than half of America’s parents (51%) say their kids eat some but not nearly enough nutritious food, and while adults assign great importance to eating together with their kids (a 9.3 out of 10), nearly 4 in 10 eat a home-cooked meal with their kids less than once a day. These findings are particularly compelling given long-term research that shows the more often a child eats with his family, the less likely that child is to smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs.

Since the inaugural National KidsDay in 2001, over 4,000 communities across the country have celebrated this new holiday. This year, National KidsDay celebrations will take place on Sunday August 1st in hundreds of cities across America. For more information about KidsDay, go to www.kidsday.net.

Meaningful Time: It’s all about FAMILY

Focus on Children
Make a regular habit of spending time with your child without interruptions. Turn off the television or radio and unplug the phone. Be sure to focus your attention on your child and avoid tending to other activities such as driving, cleaning the house or working on the computer.

Ask Them
Give children a voice in selecting and planning activities. Let them help prepare snacks for a picnic or help pack a bag for the beach.

Make it fun
If you’re playing a game of chess or checkers, make the pieces edible; wear a chef’s hat to make dinner; read a bedtime story in a funny accent; think like a kid.

Interact
Take part in fun activities rather than sitting on the sidelines. For example, play a game of baseball with a child or write your own family play and cast different family members as the lead characters...costumes and all!

Listen
Play the telephone game. Listen to what your child tells you and then repeat it to someone else in the family or one of his friends. Did you get it right? Use this time to tell your child how important her thoughts are and how committed you are to listening to them.

Young at heart
Select games and activities that both you and your children will enjoy, such as baking cookies, gardening, building a model airplane or fixing a car.

KidsDay Fun for Everyone
Great Ideas to Make Your kiddy Memorable

• Send party invitations asking everyone to bring their child’s favorite food to share.
• Let the kids create artistic table decorations and colorful place mats.
• Organize games, like water balloon relays, ring toss, face painting, beanbag toss, a craft table, and funny photo dress-up booth.
• Host a parent-child talent show or turn on some music and play musical chairs.
• Play a friendly game of tug-o-war or parent-child sack races, three-legged, wheelbarrow, egg-on-a-spoon races, or offer loot bags filled with special goodies as prizes.
• Write a family newsletter. Each person takes on a different job: reporter, illustrator, photographer, writer and editor. Highlight current events in your family and send your newsletter to friends and family.
• Stage fun photos. Dress up like your favorite movie characters or superheroes. Construct funny props and funny sets that enhance the photo.

Whether you implement these great ideas on kiddy this August 1st or on another day, take a step towards meaningful time.

Information courtesy of KidsDay. For more information and additional ideas, go to www.kidsday.net.